A Red Rose
by Melya Liz
Summary: My Dad lost me in a bet when he tried to win me a rose. So now I have to work for Seto Kaiba. I’m not going to complain about my problems but… Seto Kaiba is a horrible BEAST! -Spin off Beauty and the beast longer summery inside.Setoxoc
1. Meeting the Beast

Emiko looked up from the white paper that was in her hand "Ok room 666…

**Disclaimer: If I owned Yu-Gi-Oh!, Kaiba's father would have died a long time ago so that there would be more SetoxKisara stuff. Oh, and Bakura would be a main character. **

**First off, I have to act just like Ishizu/Isis and say "I foresee everyone thinking… 'OMG, not another Beauty and the Beast spin-off. How many times has THAT been used!?'" **

**And I guess you'd be right… Only I just really wanted to do this, and as a challenge to myself, not only will this be my first Yu-Gi-Oh fic, but I will also try to make it as close to the real Beauty and the Beast as I can while making it as believable as possible…**

**Ok, I'm not that good, so it's not as believable as I would like, but… Come on, this show's based around a bunch of kids that skip school to play cards!**

**Anyway, enjoy. **

"_**Well dear father," Beauty answered, "if you as you insisted upon it, I beg you to bring me a red rose. I have no seen one since we came here and I love them so."**_

_**Beauty and the Beast **_

**--**

Emiko looked up from the white paper that was in her hand**.** "Ok, room 666…. 666? Sheesh, what is this guy, the Devil?" Laughing slightly at her small joke, the teen glanced at the office door numbers**.**

"672, 670, 668, ahhh, there it is, 666." Her sapphire blue eyes glanced over at the foreboding office door. The large gold plate that read "Seto Kaiba" almost seemed to laugh at her. Biting her lip, she raised her hand and knocked lightly on the door.

_Now, I guess you guys are all wondering why me, some random teenage, is knocking on the great Seto Kaiba's office door, which is creepily numbered 666. Wonder if he did that on purpose? _

_Well, it's all thanks to my father…_

_Gayle Hidenka, my father, is a merchant hunter, which basically means, if you are looking for some sort of important hard drive for your computer, a special wire, a very rare program, or anything like that, my dad finds it. He's pretty well known among big companies such as KaibaCorp. Because of his job, he is always off hunting for important equipment. And it was on one of these trips that I lost my freedom. _

_I guess I should start from the beginning. You see, before he goes on a trip, my father always takes requests. Because of his job, he is usually able to find the most amazing stuff. And before every trip, he always asks what we want: this trip was no exception. Of course, my Stepmother and Stepsister, like always, had a rather long list of things, which they thoughtfully wrote down so he wouldn't forget. My two birth sisters weren't as thoughtful, but, since they both never wanted as much as my steps, it was easier for my dad to remember what they wanted._

_My sister Mirati, of course, desired something from one of her two passions: Duel Monsters or books. She's a very homebound girl who could spend hours in her room, making up strategies to win at Duel Monsters with her gradually growing deck or reading her newest book. She can, and will, read anything, from fantasy, to history, to the dictionary. If it has words and is bound by a cover, she'll read it. _

_My younger sister Gwyneira, or as we affectionately call her, Gwyn, asked for any type of music; our little twelve-year-old is obsessed with anything musical that she can get her little hands on. With the voice of an angel, I'm not surprised in the least. She not only has the talent to sing anything she hears, but she can read music notes better than the English language. So CD's or sheet music for singing was her simple request._

_Then there was me. Personally, I HATE asking for things. I'm pretty content with what I have. (Yes, I know, how unfeminine of me, but really, I get more joy seeing my two sisters get gifts than I do getting anything for myself.) So I had to think long and hard on what I wanted before my father asked me the inevitable question. I had even studied where he was going, trying to find something easy and convenient for him to get me. I couldn't very well just tell him to get me anything; my father is a horrid gift giver. Last time I told him to just get me anything, he came back with an eighty-dollar pair of wooden shoes that were so unconformable and unstylish, the only thing they were good for was firewood. So, like always, I fell back on my obsession._

"_Just something redrose-ish, please."_

_I'm not sure why I love the color red so much. I think it has something to do with my mother and the fact that she was always dressed in it. As for the rose… When I was little, I found a wild rosebush growing in our backyard. I took care of that thing for weeks, watering it and weeding it. Then one day, some bullies trampled it. But ever since then, I have always loved roses. (Yes, I have a warped mind, get used to it.)_

_So, with my steps' lists and the rest of our requests in his mind, Dad left for his conference. _

_It didn't take him long to find something for all of us. (He never got EVERYTHING on my steps' lists, but that goes without saying.) Well, everyone but me: apparently, he couldn't find something "good enough." _

_Seriously, all I had asked for was something with a rose on it. I mean, I didn't even want it that much! He could have just gotten me a stupid t-shirt from the airport for all I cared. But my father took my dislike for gifts to the extreme. As if the fact that I didn't want anything was a challenge to find the one thing I WOULD want. That always bothered me; I hope the guy who's stupid enough to marry me doesn't act like that. _

_It was the last day at the conference, and he was at the bar drinking when some of the other men there asked him to join them at playing cards. At first, it was just a friendly game, but then Seto Kaiba pulled out-as my father described it-- a beautiful, ruby, rose necklace. My father told me later that the moment he saw it, he knew it was made for me. Too bad I never got it see it. My father said that, when he saw that necklace, he told everyone there he was going to win it for me. _

_Anyway, as the story goes--or as my father tells it--they started to bet some pretty crazy things. The necklace kept going from person to person, along with lots of other trinkets. Soon, the betting started to get really strange. One of the guys bet his blue Mustang, while another bet his office chair, along with the desk and computer. Soon, they were betting anything random they could find. They were having such a great time gambling random stuff that my father got carried away. He told us he had been talking about winning that necklace for me the whole time. Then one of the men, my father said he couldn't remember who, was so sick of his bragging he said my father should just bid me. _

"_If you win, you get the pretty necklace for your daughter: if you lose, your daughter has to lose something." _

_All the men laughed, but I guess that my father's pride was slightly wounded. Standing up, he proclaimed to everyone: _

"_Well, I bid my eldest daughter; she'll work for whoever wins this round." _

_My father told us he had a very good hand and was sure he was going to win. Of course, after making a statement like that, many of the men folded, but there was one man who didn't: Seto Kaiba. After all, they don't call him the former King of Card Games for nothing._

_Both men placed down their cards…_

_And here I am._

_I blame the drinks. Really, he started out trying to win me something and ended up selling me off. You should have seen my family's face when he told us._

_Of course, my stepmother and sister laughed as if it was all one big joke. Mirati told my father he could be such an idiot sometimes. Gwyn offered to go in my place; as tempting as the offer was, I'm pretty sure that working a twelve-year-old is against the law. And when Gwyn looks up at me with those big purple eyes, there is no power on earth that would ever make me even __**think **__about letting my sweet, shy little sister work for someone like Seto Kaiba--even if it was legal. _

_So here I am… Standing in front of the door of, not only the most powerful boy in Domino city, but the coldest business man in the world. Or as far as I know, he's the coldest… I mean, who purposely has their office numbered 666? Man, that's still giving_ _me the creeps. I bet I'll have nightmares tonight…_

"Come in," came the harsh voice behind the creepily-numbered door. Gently, Emiko opened the door, peeking in. "Uh, hi, I'm Emiko Hidenka. I'm Gayle Hidenka's daughter…"

Seto Kaiba's sharp blue eyes landed on Emiko and the young woman wanted nothing more than to bolt from this hellish room and the devil that was sitting in it. At the mention of Emiko's father, the cold teen allowed a small smirk to cross his face, as if he were remembering that night's events.

"Ahhh, yes, the stupid drunk merchant." His smile seemed to hold an amusement that Emiko hoped he kept to himself. Plastering a fake smile on her own face, the pale-blonde-haired girl nodded.

"Yep, him, and even if he was drunk, he always keeps his word, so here I am."

Seto scoffed at her, his blue eyes sizing her up. Emiko felt almost naked to his prying eyes and wished more than anything that the floor would swallow her up. "Well, I had planned to just have you work with the other maids in cleaning the building-- that is, if your father kept his half of the bet--but you're in luck." He coldly held up a paper for her to take.

"My brother's last nanny and tutor both just quit today, so you'll be filling in for them until I find someone…" Again, he looked her over with disdain. "…More qualified."

Emiko bit her lip as the voice of her sharper-tongued sister, Mirati, ran through her head. _"Oh, boy, the devil-man has a brother who just drove away both his nanny and his tutor? Wow, talk about good timing, Emi. It must be your lucky day." _Sucking in a deep breath, Emiko nodded.

"Ok," she mumbled, taking the paper.

"My secretary will get you directions to my mansion. Be there Monday at eight sharp. That's all." He dismissed her with a wave, then went back to his glowing computer screen. Giving a small bow, Emi made a beeline for the door, not wanting to be in the cold teen's presence for longer than she had to.

--

"EMI!! How did it go!? Is he really as much of a jerk as everyone says!? Did you see his Blue Eyes!? What is he going to have you do!? Tell me everything!!"

Emi blinked as her younger sister bombarded her with questions. Mirati was a short girl, even for her age of 16. Her layered hair that fell a little below her shoulders was a light brown with purple streaks that she had put in one day for fun. Her purple eyes were sparkling with amusement and curiosity as they walked toward their younger sister's school. Emiko laughed, shaking her head, trying to think of some good answers to all her questions and comments.

"It went pretty well, I guess. I didn't get to talk to him long, and he was more cold than a jerk. No, I didn't see his Blue Eyes; somehow, I don't think he would have his most beloved card sitting on his desk. He's going to have me take care of his little brother because both this nanny and tutor quit today."

"Oh boy, the devil-man has a brother who just drove away both his nanny and tutor? Wow, talk about good timing, Emi. It must be your lucky day."

_Called that one. _

"Mir, Emi!!" Gwyn came running from her school and lovingly collided with her eldest sister. Emiko laughed as she hugged her little sister back. Gwyn was, in Emiko's opinion, an angel. With blonde hair that was almost as white as Emi's and sparkling purple eyes like Mirati, Gwyneira was the picture of an angelic cherub. But it wasn't only her pretty looks; Gwyn was famous for her shy personality. She didn't have many friends, content with just hiding behind her older sisters and watching everyone talk. She was a soft-spoken girl who was easy to please.

Emiko loved her more than life itself. For that matter, she loved both her sisters more than anything else in the world. There was really nothing in existence that could make her happier than to see her sisters enjoying life. So Emiko did everything in her power to make it that way.

No matter what.

--

"I got you a new nanny and tutor," Seto informed his younger brother at the dinner table. The little black-haired boy looked up.

"Really? Wow that was fast."

Seto nodded. "Remember that guy who bet his daughter in that card game I told you about?" Mokuba laughed, recalling the story his brother had told him

"How could I forget? What an idiot." Seto allowed himself a small smirk.

"Well, his daughter came in today. She'll be here Monday."

Mokuba nodded as he started to dig into his food, silently wondering what this girl was going to be like. So far, most of the people who had worked for him were really annoying and super strict. No one had lasted for more than three months with him. He didn't think this unfortunate girl had much luck. Especially if her "luck" had gotten her into this mess to begin with.

--

After dropping Gwyn and Mir off at their schools Monday morning, Emiko walked off toward the Kaiba mansion. Before they had gone to school, Emi's sisters had given her their support. Gwyn had presented her with a little cord bracelet she had stayed up late making.

"For luck, and so you'll remember me during your day."

"She's only going to be gone for the day; we won't even miss her, 'cause we'll be at school. Sheesh, you're acting like she's going to die, Gwyn," Mir remarked, rolling her dark purple eyes. "Now, Sis, in case you DO die taking care of the Kaiba brat… Remember… I GET YOUR HALF OF THE ROOM!! Oh, and your books."

"Oh, thanks, Mirati, that just boosted my confidence so much," Emi said, rolling her own blue eyes "Don't get into too much trouble today: I won't be home to bail you out."

Mir emitted a slightly evil laugh, rubbing her hands together. "I'll try very, very hard, dear older sister."

Gwyn looked slightly upset, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"Oh, sister, I don't want you to go there!" She ran to her older sister and hugged her tightly. Emi looked slightly surprised and Mir raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, Gwyn, Emi and I were just kidding around, everything's going to be fine."

"Yeah, sweetie, you'll be at school all day, you won't even know I'm gone." Emiko bent down and pushed up her younger sister's chin, wiping away the tears that were trailing down her pale cheeks. "I swear you won't even miss me."

"Swear?"

"Swear, and when I get home, we can try out that new sheet music daddy got you."

"OK!" Giving her sister one last hug, Gwyn let go and ran toward her school, waving goodbye.

"I keep forgetting how sensitive she is," Mirati muttered, then glanced up at her older sister she smiled again. "Don't worry, I'll pick her up and we'll go for a walk in the park before going home. That way dear old mother won't have to bother with us for a while."

Emi smiled. "You know me too well, Mir."

"Of course I do, I'm your sister."

"Well, see you when I get back."

"Good luck; you're going to need it with that Kaiba brat."

"Haha, yeah."

Emi smiled, laughing slightly as she walked toward the Kaiba mansion. She loved her sisters. This morning, she had been so nervous, but now all those butterflies that had been plaguing her last night had shrunk from a swarm to only two or three.

_Time to charge into battle! No Nice Emiko! Mokuba Kaiba, you're in for a treat! And really, how bad could this kid be? I've always been pretty good with kids… Better with little kids than adults, anyway…_

--

**IMPORTANT. READ THIS:**

**Ahhh, yes, just when you thought I couldn't talk anymore. –laughs- Just to let you all know, I have a few more chapters of this waiting to be posted, but they won't be until I see I have people who want it to progress… Normally, I post no matter how many reviews I get, buttttt… Since I'm already writing three other fics and had to put one on hold because this one was plaguing my mind… If you want the next chapter, show me by a review,'cause if not, I'm not going to post more, 'cause I'm not going to waste my time on a fic no one likes. **

**Does that make sense? Good, so you have been warned. :D**

**-Element Girls **


	2. Going into the castle

Beauty and the beast 2

**Disclaimer: No Yu-gi-oh for me, but I will not go emo over it!! I shall be strong… be strong… I shall… WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

**Ahem**

**Let's see, I know there was something important I wanted to tell you guys… ahh, yes. Ugh, I messed with the ages a little. Kaiba's a year older than Yugi and his friends. He doesn't go to school because, well, I always found it odd how he went to school when he owned and ran a multibillion-dollar company. When and WHY would he go to some public school? **

**Also, after getting the most amazing reviews in my life!! (proper thanks is after the chapter), it was suggested that I change the name of the story. So I talked it over with my AMAZING AND TOTALLY SUPER SPECIAL AWESOME proof reader and bestest friend ever Desert. Moon!! (Sorry I didn't mention you in the first chapter, Kit… I feel horrid –throws Bakura plushies at you- )**

"_**I forgive you on one condition- that is, that you give me one of your daughters." **_

_**-Beauty and the beast**_

--

"Master Mokuba, your new nanny is here."

The young black-haired boy looked up to see a small teenage girl. She appeared to be around his brother's age with long, pale blonde hair that looked almost white, as well as big blue eyes. She had a sweet face, one of a person who looked like she was easy to persuade into things. When she saw the young boy, she smiled sweetly, but there was something in those blue eyes that told Mokuba that there was more to her than met the eye. But Mokuba was a smart little kid; he wasn't going to let some blonde girl get the better of him. Nodding at her, he went back to the book he had been reading.

"Miss Emiko, Mokuba's school books are here." The servant patted a stack of books on the table in front of the boy. "Lunch will be served at noon sharp."

"Sounds good."

Even her voice had that _I'm some stupid blonde_ ring to it. Mokuba rolled his eyes. Oh boy, **this** girl was going to teach him? Once the servant left, Emiko sat down next to him.

"What are you reading?"

He held up the book for her to see.

"The newest Duel Monsters rulebook, huh… my sister loves Duel Monsters."

"That's nice."

"Well, let's start your schooling. You'll have to show me where your last teacher left off."

Mokuba glanced up at her from over the top of his book, then went back to reading. Emi felt a small smile creep up on her face.

"Well, I guess you already know how to read, since you're reading that book. Unless you're just pretending, or looking at the pictures. I hear Duel Monster rulebooks are pretty colorful."

"What!?"

Mokuba gasped as he turned to her. The blonde girl was flipping through his math book.

"And I guess you're good at math,'cause this is pretty advanced, unless it's also a front." She glanced at him, her deep blue eyes shining with laughter that caught Mokuba off-guard. Suddenly, the black-haired boy gave a small laugh.

"Oh, I see…."

--

_Another day at the grind; you'd think they would at least try to TEACH us some stuff… all it ever seems like my classmates do is play games or drool over the opposite sex. _

Mirati sighed as she started to set out her books. She didn't have many friends at school; her dad's job kept them moving a lot. By now she was happy just hanging out with her sisters. It wasn't like she was antisocial or anything; she knew most of the kids at her school and was "friends" with a few. She just didn't have any… close, close friends.

"Good morning, Mirati."

"Oh, good morning Bakura, how was your weekend?" The white-haired boy sat behind her in her homeroom, and during long, boring lectures, she had gotten to know him pretty well.

"Oh, very good, what about you?"

"Meh, pretty well I guess. My dad just got back from a business trip; he got me a new book."

"Oh, what kind of book was it?" Satra asked, leaning over her desk, which was right next to Mir's. She was another victim… err, person Mir had met during a lecture. Mir held up her newest book, which she kept in her backpack, just incase.

"It's the latest _Artemis Fowl." _

The light-red-haired girl frowned slightly. "Don't know it," she said, but Bakura smiled.

"Oh yes, that one's really good, I enjoyed it immensely."

_Immensely? Wow, that's some vocabulary you've got there. _

"Alright, pipe down, it's time for class. Now, as you all know…"

_Tune out time… Hmm, I wonder how Tristan gets his hair like that… wonder if he could hurt someone with that tip, too. And for that matter, I wonder if Yugi dyes his hair. Hahah, Tristan stabbing someone with his hair!! Man, that would be a riot. "Fear me, I have pointy hair!" _Mir snickered to herself at the thought of Tristan killing people in such a manner. The teacher was telling them to open their books to page 54. As she flipped to the right spot, something fell to the floor. She was about to retrieve it, but Bakura reached for it first.

"Here," he whispered, smiling.

"Thanks."

Taking it, Mir saw that it was a small, folded up letter. Unfolding it, she bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"_**Good luck at school, maybe today you could bring a friend home… If I can deal with the Kaiba kid, maybe you can try to get closer to someone other than me and Gwyn."**_There was a small picture of Emi tied up and a little boy standing next to her, laughing, with little horns on his head, plus two little girls holding hands and smiling.

_She worries about me too much, _Mir mused as she stuffed the letter into her pocket. _I do hope she's doing ok… _

--

"Hey, look, the baby's here!" a rather large ten-year-old cried, sneering at Gwyn as she walked into the school. The small blonde girl's purple eyes grew wide with fear and she hugged her backpack to her chest as if the little blue bag would protect her. A few other kids came up behind the boy, all of them grinning wickedly.

"Ok, kids, take your seats, school's about to start," Mr. Uchihori said as he walked into the room. As fast as they had come, the bullies flew to their seats, leaving little Gwyneira standing alone in the doorway. The elderly teacher glanced at his young student from over his glasses.

"Gwyneira, are you going to join us today?"

The little blonde nodded shyly and took her seat. The kid behind her, a red-haired boy with freckles, pulled on her hair.

"The princess too good for school today?" he sneered. Gwyn just sank deeper into her seat, hoping he would go back to talking to his friends. Silently, she prayed her oldest sister was having a better day than she was.

--

"So then, all you need to do is add those two numbers and you have your answer."

"So all I have to do on these problems is what you just said?"

"Pretty much, only without that whole hamster thing."

Seto Kaiba came home to the sound of laughing and joyful talking, something that wasn't very familiar in the Kaiba mansion. Seto followed the sounds to one of the living rooms. His brother Mokuba and that girl—what was her name again?—were sitting on the floor. Books littered the plush red carpet as the two of them laughed over something the fair-haired girl had said.

Seto gave a small cough and both occupants looked up. While Mokuba's smile grew wider, the girl's faded.

"Brother!!" Mokuba squealed. Jumping up, he hugged his older brother. "Emi's really cool, can we let her stay for dinner!?" Before Seto could answer, the girl in question stood up and brushed herself off.

"No, that's ok, I have to get home. I promised my own siblings I would be back as soon as possible." To the older Kaiba's surprise, Mokuba looked slightly crestfallen, but he quickly recovered as Emiko laughed lightly.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Mokuba, and don't worry about homework. Good night, Mr. Kaiba."

Kaiba returned the polite nod. He could feel his brother's disapproving eyes boring into him. Oh, well, his brother was going to have to learn that he wasn't going to become friends with every Tom, Dick, and Harry. Especially when they were working for him. Besides, who cares about some stupid white-haired girl? She was his servant, no more.

--

"I'm back!!"

"SISTER!!"

"What took you so long? Gwyn was about to go emo on me, and trust me, even the thought is probably one of the most frightening things ever."

Emiko laughed as she hugged her younger sister. The small purple-eyed girl had pretty much flung herself at her sister, almost knocking her over as she walked through the door. Even if Mir hadn't done the same, Emiko could tell she was happy to see her as well.

"So, how was your little Kaiba demon?"

"Surprisingly sweet."

Mir laughed. "I guess money doesn't corrupt us all." Emiko chuckled along with her sister, then stopped to look around. The house was oddly peaceful.

"Where's Mom and Fedha?"

"They decided to give us a break and go eat out. I'm hoping that someone will be stupid enough to kidnap them… but I have a feeling that they will be back soon. You know our luck." Emiko laughed at her sister's remark then rolled up her sleeves. "Ok, who wants dinner?"

Gwyn grinned, bouncing up and down. "Ohhh, me!! Can I help make it!?"

"Yes you may. Mir?"

"Meh, I don't want to be left out."

--

**Hey guys!! Just a few words before we go into very long thank you's to my amazing reviewers. I'm still waiting on my B&tB book from the library just felt like telling you all that. it's really hard to keep to the plot with out the book. So far I've just been using my very poor memory. OH also there are going to be a few UN related B&tb things in the story. That's just so we can get to know characters and stuff like that. **

**Now on to my reviewers!! **

**codeblueeyes987:**

**Thanks!! –hugs you- **

Arena:

**Adiditional oc's? does that mean Mir and Gwyn? Normally I try to stray away from to many oc's all at once but I'm sure things will clear up soon :D they all have very different personalities that might help :D**

Amelia:

**First off… MY NAME IS AMELIA!! That's soooo cool!! and you're review really made me happy!! I was grinning from ear to ear :D because of your comment I'm changing the name, after talking to Kit we agreed (more like she told me) it would probably be better that way. So what do you think of the new name? Better? And your comments on the story are sooo sweet!! You made me feel… so wonderful!! –glomps you a trillion times- and you are in NO way bothering me!! OMG GIRL!! you are the sweetest coolist person EVER!! How can I ever thank you!! you made my day!! no my WEEK!! **

**Desert.Moon: **

**Holly cow Kit you weren't kidding when you said you were going to write a HUGE review!! Yes I added that Bakura part in there just for you :D and so if I owned it you wouldn't have to sit through hours of Geek talking just to hear Bakura say "Great job Joey." You know that gold pate IS probably laughing at her. OMG YESSSSS **

**Taka: Abura what are you burning?**

**Abura: some shoes my dad gave me**

**Taka: they were wood!?**

**Abura: hence the reason I'm burning them **

**Haha wellllll we'll seeeeee –laughs crazily-. Of course!! Because Emi always jumps to conclusion. I'm sure it's a little of both XD Emi knowing her sisters really well and Mir just being predictable. HAHAH well Emi's not much like Tohru… she doesn't put up with much from other people (it drives Seto crazy later on). EEEE I know!! and it's all thanks you to!! Because you inspired it and you proof read it!! and you ROCK!! **

**P260even**

**SQUEEEEE –glomps you- REALLY!! Wow thanks I'm still waiting for my copy of beauty and the beast to come in… it's kind of hard to write this with out it :D**


	3. To do or not to do

**Disclaimer: Hummm, something witty should go here saying I don't own Yu-gi-oh… **

**So I just got this amazing book that has all the most famous folk tales in it!! You Guys have NO idea who hard it was for me to FIND a Beauty and the Beast story, but I did it :D and I'm so happy. Of course I DID find a few problems with my story in contrast to the REAL one but I thought of some cool ways to fix them :D **

**Also I want to make a little "thank you" to the amazing author Regina Doman and her "retold fairy tale books like" ****The Shadow Of The Bear**** (go look it up on Amazon).**

**Edit: I added a bit to the end (5/19) **

"_**No excuse is necessary," answered the Beast, "if she comes at all she must come willingly" **_

**-**_**Beauty and the Beast 3**_

--

"Mirati, are you doing anything tomorrow?" The question caught Mir completely off-guard. She glanced inquiringly over at the white-haired boy next to her.

"Well, I was probably going to take my little sister to the park, or stay at home and read. Why?"

"You see, some of my friends and I are going to go to that festival that's coming to town. I was wondering if you were interested in coming with us."

Mir was stunned. As stupid and sappy as it sounded, no one had ever invited her to go somewhere with them and their friends. A trillion things raced through her head. Tomorrow was a Friday, so Emi wouldn't be home until she finished teaching Mokuba. This meant Gwyn would be home alone with mom. So she'd say no and hang out with Gwyn, protecting her from their stepmom's wrath. Yes, she would say no.

Then a new thought popped into the brunette's head. Both her sisters would kill her if they found out that she had been invited to go out with other kids and said no.

Apparently, her hesitation made Bakura think she was shy.

"You don't have to answer right away. How about you think it over and give us your answer after school?"

"Uhhh, well…"

"Hey, Bakura, what's up, buddy?"

Mir frowned as she was interrupted by Joey, who had come over to talk to Bakura. Turning back to her book, Mir went back to reading. She'd just tell him later and pray that her sisters didn't find out.

--

"Good morning, Crysta."

The young maid looked up and smiled. "Oh, Miss Hidenka! Good morning!" Emiko rolled her eyes.

"You really can just call me Emiko or Emi; I keep thinking you're talking to someone else." The young russet-haired girl giggled slightly, but stopped when an older woman came marching in.

"Crysta! Where is Bara? Seto wants his offices cleaned tomorrow night and I can't find her anywhere… The whole cleaning squad was fired for some reason and—"

"Bara was fired two days ago."

From her place behind Crysta Emi shook her head, _Leave it to Seto Kaiba to fire a whole cleaning team and then expects them to somehow clean._

"WHAT!" The older woman moaned, rubbing her forehead, trying to rid herself of her growing headache.

"Um, excuse me? Miss Neyata?"

The older woman glanced at the young master's new tutor, a slight frown on her face. "Yes?"

"Well, if you need a cleaning squad, my sisters and I could do it. How much does Mr. Kaiba Pay?"

"A lot, but it's more than just you and your _sisters_ can do. KaibaCorp is HUGE."

"Uhhh, excuse me, Miss Neyata…" This time it was Crysta who spoke up. "They wouldn't need to do the whole building, just a few rooms… the front, several offices, and the master's office."

_Oh boy, room 666, _Emi mused, trying not to smirk. _I can't get away_. The older woman looked like she was turning over the idea while sizing up the young woman before her.

"Well, if it's not too much trouble for you and your sisters…"

"No, Ma'am!! Since I'm torture… err _tutoring_ Mokuba for free, I could really use the money!"

"Very well. Report to KaibaCorp at 8 o'clock sharp tonight!"

"Yes, Ma'am, and thank you!"

The older woman smiled. "No, thank you." After bowing in gratitude, Emi dashed off to meet her pupil. As she walked down the long hall, she wondered how she was going to tell her sisters she had gotten them a part-time job. She was sure whatever she told them she was in for an interesting reaction.

--

Emi wasn't home yet; Mokuba must have been keeping her. Both Gwyn and Mir were at home just chilling. Dear old mummy and that witch they were forced to call a sister were upstairs in some corner of the house. Mir was glad they were up there; the peace and quiet was such a nice thing. Suddenly, she remembered she had never answered Bakura. Glancing over at her sister, who was on the floor coloring, the brunette spoke.

"Hey, Gwyn, what time do you get home from school tomorrow?"

The younger sister looked up inquisitorily at the older. "Four. No, wait, it's Friday… So I get off early; two-ish, I think."

That wasn't good; Emi would never get back in time to shield her from the Ice Queen and her demon daughter. Gwyn's purple eyes narrowed as she looked at her older sister, trying to figure out why she had asked such a question.

"Why did you ask?"

"Oh, no reason, I was just wondering…"

A knock on the door interrupted Mir. Both girls looked at each other; who could be knocking at their door? If dad were back from his trip, he would have just barged in. If it were Emi, she would have just barged in. And no one else would _want_ to come over. Getting up, Mir walked toward the door, Gwyn following a few feet behind.

"Hello? Bakura? What? How did you find my house?"

"Oh, hello, Mirati! You never gave me an answer for tomorrow, and as for finding your house, I asked the teacher."

"Oh…" _Should I be creeped out? Probably… _

"Yes. She says yes."

"GWYN!!" Mir wasn't sure if she should be more surprised that her sister had spoken to a stranger or that she had just answered for her. Bakura smiled and bent down so he was on the same level as Gwyn, who was peeking out from behind her older sister.

"Hello, I don't think we've met, my name's Bakura."

Gwyn smiled back and waved from her place behind her older sister. "I'm Gwyneira, Mir's younger sister. And you HAVE to let Mir hang out with you, she doesn't have any friends."

Bakura straightened back up and glanced over at Mir, his warm brown eyes boring holes into her very soul. For some reason, his stare made her flush slightly.

"L…Look, that's not true I have plenty of friends… and… and…"

"So I'll see you tomorrow after school? I'm sure my other friends will love to meet you."

Gwyn's face lit up as if Bakura had asked her out instead of her sister. "Ohhh, did you hear that, Sis!? You're going to go out and get lots of friends!!" Mir was too stunned to say anything, so she just stood there, dumbstruck. Bakura laughed, turning to leave.

"It was nice to meet you, Gwyneira, and I'll see you tomorrow, Mirati." He waved as he walked out toward the road. Because he was so distracted with saying goodbye, he almost tripped on a hose that was lying across the walkway. Giving a slightly embarrassed laugh, he ran off.

Once he was out of sight, Gwyn gave a small giggle. "I like him, he's nice."

Mir just blinked._ What just happened? And why do I feel like I was just sabotaged? _

Giggling and singing, Gwyn ran around her still-dazed sister. "Sissy's going out with friends. Sissy has friends!"

"Gwyneira!! Keep it down, you little chatterbox!!"

The young blonde slowed down. "Sorry, Mommy."

--

"_You'll never amount to anything." _

Emi shook her head as she tried to rid her mind of her stepmother's words. She gave a small sigh as she opened the door to her house… if you could call it "her house." It was more like her stepmother's prison, and they were just there because her father liked them. Mentally she slapped herself then shook her head. She shouldn't think like that… but the words of her stepmother kept ringing in her ears. It was true, in a way; Emi was unmotivated and didn't really have any dreams for her future. All she really wanted was to get a small, easy job and live in a small house with her two sisters and her father. But even that little dream wasn't something she wanted to push for. She just didn't have that _drive_ that her sisters did. All and all, Emi just didn't **care** that much about her future or the direction her life was taking, what ever direction that was.

"Sister, Sister, guess what!!" Gwyn, like every day, launched herself at her sister joyfully. There Stepmother, Manon, gave a groan from the next room.

"My goodness! Gwyneira, couldn't you hold that shrill voice for once in your life?"

Rolling her eyes, Emiko leaned forward and whispered to her sister, "What happened, Gwyn?"

Her younger sister gave a dramatic stage whisper.

"Mir got friends."

Emi glanced up at her sister who was (what else?) reading a book. The brunette rolled her eyes as she flipped a page.

"More like I was tricked into going to the fair tomorrow with some of my classmates."

Gwyn gave a toothy grin. "It was me! I was the one! I was the one who tricked her."

Emi smiled slightly and ruffled the younger girls hair "Good for you, Gwyn."

She'd just tell her sister s about their new job later.

--

School was done early because of a teachers meeting. So right as the bell sang it's "song of freedom", as Mir called it, Gwyn bolted out the door and on her way home before most kids were out of there seats.

_Mir's going out with her friends so that means I'm home alone with Mommy and Fedha._ This thought made the young girl slowed as the reached her house. Looking around she noticed her mother's pink car. _Darn she's home, _Taking a deep breath Gwyn opened the door and walked in.

"So where are they!?"

"I don't know mom!!"

"Well then since none of them had a decency to tell me where they are, you have to clean up that mess!! Ohhh your father's going to hear about this one!!"

"WHAT!! BUT MOOOOOOOOM!!"

"I don't want to heart it!!"

Gwyn gulped _be strong, don't be scared, you can do it. _

"I'm back."

Her Stepmother and sister looked up. They were both in the middle of a fight, a fallen coffee cup laying at there feet.

"Where have you been!! I thought you got home early today!?"

"I did"

"And where are you sisters!! This house is a wreck!!"

"Emi works at the Kaiba mansion remember…"

Her mother stopped for a moment then gave a small smirk. "Ahhh yes" Fedha frowned as if not getting what ever was making her mother chuckle.

"Well what about Mir!!"

"Uhhh… I don't know" Gwyn lied, unsure of what to say.

"Well clean this up you lazy little leech" Manon said pointing to the spilled drink. "Then when you're done I want you to clean up the entertaining room. We're having a party this weekend."

"Yes"

"Yes what?"

"Yes Ma'am"

The elder woman smiled, twirling a strand of her black hair, her copper eyes looking down at the girl like a cat looking at its pry, "Good girl." With that both mother and daughter left the young girl to get to work while they started to plan their guest list.

Gwyn was use to cleaning and she didn't mind it much. Besides the vacuum that is, seeing as it was almost as big as she was, she had always had difficult with it. She had just gotten it all set up when there was a knock on the door. Quickly she ran to the door and opened it to see the mailman.

"Good after noon Gwyn, I'm running a bit late today." He handed her the letters and turned to leave, not exiting the shy girl to give him more of a reply then her shy smile. Giving a small wave Gwyn closed the door and shifted through the mail. Her hand froze as she saw one addressed to her. Quickly she ripped the letter open. Gwyn's purple eyes widened as she read the large bold writing on top of the letter.

_**You have four free tickets to the opening of Cyberland Amusement Park. **_

"Gwyn!! Is that you!?"

The young girl stuffed the letter in her skirt pocket and turned to see her mother standing in the doorway. Nodding the young girl handed her mother the rest of the mail.

"The mailman was here"

Giving a slightly wicked smile the older woman took the mail. "Good girl, now go get out and do something, don't bother me right now."

"Yes Ma'am"

Dashing out Gwyn almost bumped into her Stepsister, "Watch it twerp!" Fedha snapped pushing Gwyn away from her. Giving s silent nod the little girl ran out. Once she was in the back yard she opened the letter again.

_**You have four free tickets to the opening of Cyberland Amusement Park. **_

This was perfect! They could all go have fun together! She should go and tell her sister right now!! Gwyn jumped up then stopped, her determination fading almost as fast as it had come. She walked slowly toward the front of the house. It wasn't too far to the Kaiba mansion but the thought of walking there alone was kind of scary. Not to mention having to go INSIDE. Biting her lip she looked around. What should she do?

Her Step-mother made up her mind for her.

"Gwyneira!! You lazy little ghost!! Where are you!! Come inside and clean your sister's room!!"

The voice of her sister Emi rang out in her head, _"You need to be braver Gwyn. I can't always be there for you." _Nodding to herself she clutched the letter to her racing heart she nodded solemnly then ddashed off toward the Kaiba mansion.

--End--

**I have decided that I'm going to post these chapters every Friday if I can. This is so I can keep up with my OTHER fics even if all I want to do it write this one XD **

**Sorry Seto hasn't been in that much I'm working on putting him in a lot in chapters to come (this means lot's of him vs Emi –laughs at her plans) :D **

Sister of the Pharaoh:

**Awww thank you so much!! it's so nice to hear that someone who's not ever a Kaiba fan likes this :D your sooo sweet!! **

P260even

**HAHA I know, just another spin off, well I'll try to make it good :D and Thank you sooo much!! –hugs you-**

codeblueeyes987

**So how are you likening it so far? **

Kankuro's Puppet

**Hahah well being kicked off your computer isn't good… but thank you so much!! of course it isn't anywhere NEAR as amazing as obsession but I can try XD **

bandgeek0165

**AWWW thank you sooo much!! I love Beauty and the Beast to!! It's probably one of my favorite stories. And OMG!! You just said "totally super special awesome" SQUEEEEEEEEE!! I say that ALL the time!! **

Ghettoyouth

**Haha well I guess it COULD be worse… but it could ALWAYS GET worse XD **

**Thank you guys soooo much!! You are all oh so sweet!! It makes me sooo happy to read your reviews!! And it helps me so much!! Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you!!**

**-Liz **


	4. Trying something new

**Disclaimer: If Yu-gi-oh was mine… Mokuba would be the main character and everyone would bow down to his super cuteness.**

**Let's see… I don't have much to say other then the next chapter is a whopper and I had a BLAST writing this one, I have to say Mir is sooo much fun writing.**

**Again thank you Desert.moon for all the proof reading work you put into these –cream puff glomp- your amazing **

_**In spire of her anxiety, she could not help admiring all the wonderful things she saw. –Beauty and the beast**_

* * *

The run there wasn't as hard as she'd thought. She just kept her eyes down and ran as fast as she could. Of course, she was still out of breath when she got to the mansion, but as long as no bad guys had gotten her, all was good. Stopping for a moment to catch her breath, she looked up at the large wooden doors.

So here she was. What did she do now?

_I guess I should knock…but then what do I say? What will _they_ say? Will they yell at me?? Ohhhh, I'm so scared!_

Gwyn frowned and stood up straight. _No. I must be brave like my sisters!! If Mir can get friends, then I can be brave!_ Clutching her letter tight in her left hand, she knocked on the door with her right.

It didn't take long for a maid to answer. She was a sweet-looking girl, about the same age as Emi. As she smiled down at Gwyn, the little girl felt a little better.

"Why, hello, what can I help you with?"

"I'm here to see Emiko Hidenka, she's my sister."

"Of course!! You look just like her. Follow me."

Gwyn followed close behind the young woman, glancing around at the huge mansion as they waked down the halls. Everything seemed so… so… overbearing.

"Let's see how you did… hm, looks good, but just remember to add a comma here and here."

The young maid opened the door and Gwyn looked in to see Emi handing a paper back to a young boy around Gwyn's age. He was smiling as he looked over the paper again. _He must be Mokuba. _

Gwyn had to admit, Mokuba didn't really look anything like she thought he would. She had imagined a snobby-looking boy with a bowl-cut and a rich, fancy suit, but the boy who was sitting next to her sister had long, unruly black hair and wore a blue-and-white-striped shirt and jeans. He looked very nice, Gwyn decided.

_I was worried Sissy would have some monster to teach, but he seems really nice! I'm so glad._

Both Emi and the young Kaiba looked up as the maid gave a small cough, announcing their presence. When she saw her younger sister, Emi smiled.

"Gwyn! To what do we owe this great honor?"

Smiling shyly, the younger sister walked up to Emi and handed her the letter she had gotten. Opening it, Emi's eyes grew wide with surprise. Next to her, Mokuba leaned over to see what it said. He was startled when his teacher let out a squeal.

"GWYYYYYN! YOU WON!!" The young girl nodded, beaming with pride. "Oh, I'm so proud of you!!" Jumping up, the blonde girl gave her younger sister a bone-crushing hug.

Mokuba read the letter again. Then he frowned slightly. It was right around the time his brother had to go to a meeting. He had just been telling Emi about how he hated it when Seto went on business trips and left him all alone at home. Emi had told him she would hang out with him that week. But he knew how it went.

Family came before students.

"Well, then, let's pack our bags." Emi said as she took the letter from Mokuba. "This is right around the time that Mom's having that party, isn't it? Man, what amazing timing! So, Mokuba?"

_Here it comes: 'Sorry, but I can't stay with you.'_

"Think your brother will let you go with us? After all, this IS one of his competitor's amusement parks."

"What? You mean, you want me to go, too?"

"Duh, I promised you I'd hang out with you. Just run it by your brother, and then if he says yes, pack your bags." Mokuba jumped up, beaming.

"OK!!"

Behind her sister, Gwyn giggled, drunk with the excitement in the air.

* * *

Mir's dark purple eyes scanned the clothes as she walked through the streets with Yugi, Téa, Tristan, Joey, his sister, Duke, and Bakura. Idly, she wondered what the mob of them looked like to others.

She had to admit, she felt slightly out of place; she wasn't used to hanging out with other kids like this. Bakura must have felt her unease, because he turned to her and smiled. Giving a weak smile back, Mir turned to Téa, who was lecturing Tristan and Joey on something. Then, turning to Mir, Téa smiled.

"I love doing this kind of stuff with friends, don't you, Mirati?"

Mir shrugged, taking the last bite of her ice-cream bar. "I wouldn't know. This is my first time."

The other teens stopped dead in their tracks. All eyes turned to Mir. The brunette blinked in confusion.

"What?"

"Whaddya mean, this is your first time?" Joey demanded.

"…I mean, this is my first time hanging out with people who aren't my sisters…"

That did it. Téa burst into one of her friendship speeches.

Mir stood, dumbfounded at Téa's speech, a trillion words flying through her head so fast she couldn't hold them all in. Glancing over at Bakura, she winced.

"Wow, how do you put up with this?"

The white-haired boy just smiled his pleasant smile that made Mir feel even more evil than normal.

"Most of the time, I just kind of tune it out."

"Bakura, you're a saint."

The white-haired boy laughed, rubbing the back of his head, embarrassed. "Oh, I wouldn't say that."

Shaking her head, Mir laughed lightly along with Bakura. Suddenly, the group stopped. Mir almost bumped into Joey's sister—she remembered Joey saying her name was Serenity.

"Oh, sorry."

"It's fine."

Peeking over the brown-haired girl, Mir saw Téa looking at some clothes that hung on a rack. After glancing at a few, she started to pull some out.

"Oi, c'mon, Téa!" Joey complained. "Don't make us wait around for you while you shop!"

The short-haired girl turned to him, her hands on her hips. "Oh, please! What's the point of coming to this fair if you don't _buy_ anything!? Besides, you can't find these prices anywhere else!!" Tristan laughed, "Ya know, dude, she does have a point." As they waited for Téa, Mirati started looking through a rack of jackets and vests. Suddenly, a white, cape-ish-looking thing caught her eye. Pulling it out, she eyed it, a small, mischievous smile growing on her lips.

"Hey, guys, look."

They all turned to see that Mir had put the cape on.

"Wow, that kind of looks like Kaiba's cape," Yugi remarked. Mir nodded as she struck a pose.

"The name's Kaiba, Seto Kaiba, and I am too obscenely rich to care about anyone or anything!"

This, of course, sent the boys into peals of laughter. Joey was still cracking up when Téa, who had convinced them to wait for her, came back with a few bags of things. "What's wrong with Joey?" she asked, glancing over at Joey, who was doubled over in laughter. Mir shrugged, the cape now innocently tucked back on the rack.

"Beats me."

"You have a very… very… uhhh, big house," Téa noted. Mir could tell she was trying to be polite. Truth was, their house almost looked like a miniature castle, due to the layout—complete with all its strange turrets and things. Looking around, Mir gave a sigh of relief when she saw that her stepmom's car wasn't there.

"Would you guys like to come in for a bit? Emi should be home from work and Gwyn from school."

"Your sister works? What does she do?" Serenity asked.

"Right now, she's tutoring Mokuba Kaiba."

"MOKUBA!?"

"You know him?"

Mir found it creepy how they all nodded at the same time. _I wonder if that's what happens when you hang around other people too long… you all become clones. Anyway, what do I do? Maybe they're hungry…_

"Are you guys hungry?"

"YES!"

Everyone was slightly startled by Bakura's quick answer. Blinking in surprise, Mir nodded.

"Uh, ok, follow me."

As they got closer to the kitchen, they could hear the sounds of laughter and singing.

"Is someone here?" Joey asked. Mir smirked as she opened the kitchen door.

"Yeah, my sisters."

Emi was kneeling on the floor, playing air guitar to the music that was playing on the radio. Gwyn was dancing around her, waving a slightly dirty spoon, singing in perfect time with the song.

"Hey, guys."

Both girls stopped and looked up to see Mir and several other teens behind her, trying to get a good look at the girls in the kitchen. Gwyn instantly ran behind Emi, who almost fell over her young sister as she tried to stand up.

"Mir, you brought your friends back," Emi remarked. "Welcome to the crazy and insane Hidenka household."

"They were hungry, so I brought them into the kitchen…"

"Good call, O Smart One."

"Wow, is my sweet older sister being sarcastic? That's a first. Trip over anything interesting today? Or maybe you hit your head on something?"

"Now that you mention it, I fell over when I heard you got invited to go out with some kids your own age."

The guests simply stood there, looking bemused, watching the two sisters go at it like a ping-pong match.

"They are always like that," Gwyn informed 'Mir's new friends,' smiling shyly up at them. When Bakura saw the youngest sister, he beamed.

"Why, hello, Gwyneira, how are you today?"

Gwyn smiled and giggled. "I'm good. I was helping Sissy make brownies."

"That's because, unlike Mir, we are good hostesses."

"You don't even know what a hostess is, and you didn't even make the brownies for us."

Emi laughed as she pulled out a plate of brownies. "Doesn't mean you guys can't have them, hope you guys like chocolate, 'cuz these are packed with it."

* * *

After helping themselves to the brownies—Emi had been right: They had been packed with chocolate—Mir's _new friends_ had talked for a bit, then left. Now the sisters were cleaning up the kitchen as they waited for their mother and sister to get home.

"Sooooo," Emi began as she pulled out the trash and put a clean bag in the silver can. "This is kind of fun." Mir looked up at her suspiciously.

"What's fun? Cleaning?"

"Well, yeah, no, I mean, just being together, doing stuff,"

"Yeah…. You got us into some trouble didn't you?"

"WHAT?! NO!! Well, I mean…"

Mir stopped sweeping, her purple eyes wide. "OH MY GOSH!! What did you _do,_ Emi!?"

Her older sister held up her hands in defense. "No, it's nothing like that!! It's just that, well, Seto Kaiba fired one of the cleaning teams, so I told them we could do it."

Both of her sisters stood there, gaping at her. Emi grinned sheepishly at them. Finally, Mir spoke.

"So, do we get paid?"

"Pretty nicely."

The brunette shrugged. "Meh, sounds like fun." Suddenly, it hit her. "Hey, does this mean we get to run loose in KaibaCorp all alone!?"

Emi laughed. "Yeah, pretty much."

"HAHAHA, SWEET!!"

* * *

**Well there is it, I have to say I'm pretty happy with how fast this story is progressing, it might not look like it now but things are tying in already :D Also lot's of laughs when they clean KaibaCorp XD can't wait!! **

**Now on to the reviews!! **

**Archerygrl1992: **

Thank you so much :D I am so glad you liked it. I love hearing from my readers.

**Kankuro's Puppet:**

SQUEEEE –glomps you for no reason- haha yess I LOVE BakuraMir stuff!! It is indeed very fluffy and warm 3 and Mr. Kaiba and Emi will have a very… interesting… talk in the next chapter (spoiler!)

**codeblueeyes987:**

**-**Hugs you again-so is your name after the blue eyes white dragon (she's my favorit card 3)

**Desert.Moon:**

KITTTTTT I send you a reply to your review… (she forgot she replied to them here ;) BUTTTT I love getting reviews from you and writing BakuraMir stuff for you –hugs you- lot's more to come (but not in the next chapter, as you know sorry)


	5. First fight

**Disclaimer: Element-girls does not own Yugioh… yet… MUAHAHAHAHAHA**

**Ahem**

**Sorry this is rather late, I have been sick all week, working ALL the time, classes started, and lack of reviewers (causing me to wonder if this was worth my time to keep up a constant date) got in the way.**

**Also drama classes have started to come into full swing (11 ta 9 and I have to drive 45 minutes to get there) I'll try to write as much as I can when I have time. **

**Not much else to say other then thanks again to Desert-moon for proof reading my stuff and inspiriting me so much. –cream puff glompage- **

_**After looking at her he said in a tone that might had struck terror into the boldest heart… "Good evening Beauty,"**_

_**The merchant was too terrified to reply, but beauty answered bravely "Good evening Beast"**_

_**-Beauty and the beast**_

* * *

Emi had filled Mir in on Gwyn winning the contest to go to the amusement park. This had made the brunette so thrilled that she had pretty much hugged Gwyn until the little girl was gasping for breath. Emi couldn't help but notice how happy her middle sister was as they walked to KaibaCorp. Apparently, Gwyn noticed it as well.

"See? Friends make Mir happier."

"Yes they do."

The little girl smiled, knowing that it was because of her that Mir had even gone out. "I like that Bakura boy, he's nice."

Emi laughed at her little sister's remark. "He was the white haired one, right?" _The only one she would talk to. I have a feeling that Mir wasn't the only one who benefited from having other kids over. _ Gwyn nodded, grinning. "Yep."

The Building wasn't too far from their house, so it didn't take them to long to get there. Fishing out her keys, Emi unlocked the door and the three sisters walked in. Mir and Gwyn gasped as they crossed the threshold of the KaibaCorp.

"HOLYNESS THIS PLACE IS HUGE!" Mir cried as she skipped around the massive main room. Gwyn laughed as she followed her sister. Chuckling to herself, Emi walked toward the room that Miss Neyata had told her held the necessary equiptment for the first floor. Unlocking it, she opened the door. Seeing that their sister was getting the cleaning supplies, the two younger girlss ran over to her.

"We'll help you," Mir sang as she grabbed a polishing rag. "Come on, Gwyn." The younger girl looked confused, but followed her sister's example.

"What ever you're planning, Mir, be careful, k?"

"Of course, sissies," Mirati's voice rang out from on top of the second flight of stairs. Emiko shook her head as she started to get the vacuum ready.

--

They were just passing KaibaCorp when Seto stopped the limo. "I forgot some papers in my office," he informed the driver. "I need to pick them up."

"I'll come in with you," Mokuba said, jumping out of the car next to his older brother. Seto had been a little worried about leaving Mokuba while he attended his out-of-town meeting, but so far, his brother had taken it pretty well.

_Maybe he's growing up._

--

"Mir, what are you doin— MIR!! Don't, you'll get hurt!"

Emiko stopped her vacuuming for a moment at the sound of her youngest sister's voice. "Mirati? What are you doing up…"

"MIR, DON'T!!"

"GANG WAY!!"

The door opened and Emi whirled around.

"Oh, Mr. Kaiba, Mokuba…"

In Emi's opinion, the Kaiba brothers couldn't have picked a worse time to 'stop by the office.' Because just as the two boys walked into the large building, Mir came sliding down the long banister, riding on the polishing rag. She landed on her back, laughing her head off. Jumping up, she didn't even turn around, but called up to her sister.

"Oh my gosh!! Gwyn!!"

"Mir…"

"You have to do it!! HAHAH that was amazing!"

"Mir, honey…"

"Do it right now, Gwyn!!"

"Alei Mirati Hidenka!!"

The brown-haired girl spun around, a huge smile sliding off her face "See, I polished the ba…." She trailed off as she caught sight of the Kaiba brothers. Mokuba's large, dark blue eyes were wide with wonder and… longing. While Seto… Well, let's just say that if looks could kill, Emi would have one less sister.

"Mir! Mir, are you ok!?"

The sound of Gwyn's footsteps echoed loudly as she ran down the stairs. The moment she caught sight of the Kaiba brothers, she stopped, then retreated a few steps, unsure of what to do. Giving a small sigh, Emi shook her head.

"Mokuba, you remember Gwyn." She flashed a small smile at the young girl, who was trying to hide. "And this is my other sister, Mir." She glanced over at said sister, an eyebrow raised as she tried to suppress a laugh. Mir giggled lightly, rubbing the back of her head.

"And what are you people doing in my building?"

"Cleaning."

Seto glared at Mir's curt answer. The middle sister didn't seem fazed.

"I can see that, but _why _are you cleaning here?"

"We heard you fired the cleaning squad for today, so we volunteered," Emi said quickly, her crystal blue eyes meeting his stone-hard ones.

"Just do your job and don't break anything," Seto growled. Then, after looking around for a moment, he brushed past her and stormed up the stairs. Seeing him coming toward her, Gwyn gave a small squeak and scrambled as far away from him as possible.

"Brother, wait!!" Mokuba yelled, running after his brother. Taking one more glance at the sisters, he smiled. "Don't worry about Brother, he's just busy getting read for his trip."

* * *

"If that's Kaiba getting ready for a trip, I don't want to meet him when he's working."

"Trust me, you don't."

The sisters were home in their room, lying in their beds. Even thou they lived in a pretty big house there Set-mother didn't believe in "wasting space," as she called it, so the three girls shaired a room, not that they minded that much. Gwyn was already asleep, in Emi's bed because she was too scared to sleep alone. Mir laughed lightly, turning over so she was facing her sister's bed.

"So what is this Mokuba kid like?"

Emi smiled in the dark. "He's very sweet and sees things in a way that most people don't. I really like him. But…" She paused for a moment. "He's very lonely." Mir scoffed.

"If I had a brother like Seto Kaiba, I would be, too."

Emi was silent for a minute, trying to figure out something that had been bothering her. Finally, she spoke.

"I… I would agree with you, but… Mokuba loves him. So he must have SOME shred of goodness."

"Yeah, maybe." Mir's voice was very serious as she spoke. "Siblings are very important." Laughing slightly, she snuggled deeper into her covers. "I know that from experience."

* * *

The next morning was utter chaos. The two younger girls had all their stuff packed, but there was always that one last item that just couldn't be left behind. As they dashed around the house getting everything ready, Emi called Mokuba to make sure the younger boy was more prepared than her sisters. The young Kaiba was happy to hear from Emi and told her eagerly that was all ready. Once Emi hung up, she told her sisters that, ready or not, they were going. So, after cramming into the old car, that no one ever used—except for Emi on occasions like this—they headed to the Kaiba mansion to pick up Mokuba. When the young boy saw the car, he frowned slightly.

"We can take one of our limos if you want."

"No way, this is more fun!! Hop in, Moki!"

The boy froze in his tracks, looking at Emi in shock. "M…Moki?"

Emi gave a nervous smile. "Is that ok?"

"Y-Yeah, that's fine."

Mir laughed, scooting over so that Mokuba could sit next to her. "Well then, little Kaiba, let's get moving. By the way, I'm Mir; I know we sort of met at KaibaCorp, but I wanted to properly introduce myself."

"And anything that comes out of her mouth from now on is sarcastic banter and shouldn't be taken seriously."

Mir stuck out her tongue at her sister, who was now driving toward their destination. The rest of the ride was a lot of fun. Emi played a lot of music and they all sang along. At first, Gwyn was too shy, but after much prodding and encouragement from her sisters, she joined in. Mokuba hadn't had so much fun in a long time, and the smile that lit up his face never left.

* * *

The meeting had been much shorter than Seto had planned—not that he was complaining. He was now returning home much earlier than excerpted. _I'm sure Mokuba will be happy to see me back so early; maybe I'll take him out._

Leaving his luggage for the servants, he walked briskly into his mansion. It didn't take him long to find that his brother was NOT in the building. Frowning slightly, he stopped when he saw the housekeeper.

"Mr. Kaiba," she said in surprise. "We weren't expecting you home until Monday."

"One of the men who was going to make a presentation got sick, so they ended early. Where's my brother?"

"Mokuba? What do you mean, Sir? He won't be back from Fantasy Land until tomorrow." Seto raised an eyebrow

"And why is my brother in my rival's amusement park alone?"

Mikara Neyata looked confused and startled by Seto's question. "He went with his tutor. She said he told you."

"Well, I wasn't informed."

The elder woman looked flustered, backing up a few steps. "M-Mr Kaiba, I had no idea."

"Get my car ready."

"Y—yes, Sir."

* * *

"This is it, Gwyn!! Blow them away, ok!!"

The young girl giggled slightly, looking at her older sisters. Emi had informed Mokuba on the trip over that Gwyn had won a contest by singing on a tape and sending it in. Now they wanted the winners to sing on stage for a few of the business people and an audience. Of course, as they prepared, the very shy girl was growing increasingly nervous. Mir was now jumping around, telling her how amazing she was going to do. Emi laughed, patting her little sister on the shoulder.

"You'll do fine, don't worry. Just pretend you're at home, singing to me and Mir."

Giving a small smile, Gwyn nodded. One of the backstage men told Gwyn's _fans_ that they needed to get to their seats. Mokuba took one last glance at the girl who stood watching her family leaving her alone. Flashing her a thumbs up, he grinned.

"Good luck! We'll be cheering for you!"

Gwyn's face broke out into a huge smile and she giggled shyly, mouthing the words "Thank you."

* * *

It hadn't taken Kaiba long to locate his brother: Security was tight, and after explaining that he needed to find someone, they had used their cameras to locate the "missing" boy. They had informed him that Mokuba was at the "concert hall," where contestants were singing. He now stood in front of the mock Broadway Theater. The sound of clapping could be heard as he walked inside. As he stalked into the room, he scanned the crowd for his brother or that damn woman. Suddenly, the young girl who was walking on stage caught his eye.

"Next up is Gwyneira Hidenka. She is only thirteen years old and has never had any professional training."

The child looked rather scared up on the stage; her purple eyes were wide as she searched the crowd for someone. Suddenly, her gaze landed on her target and she smiled slightly, confidence returning. Giving a small nod to the DJ, she straightened up as the music started to play.

Seto followed her gaze and found Emi, her other sister, and Mokuba standing in the crowd. Giving a small grunt of satisfaction, he started to walk toward them.

Gwyn opened her mouth and started to sing; her voice stopped him dead in his tracks. He turned to look at her. There was no way a girl that young could have a voice that—that _powerful_. It was like her voice slipped into his very heart and ripped it right out of his chest. Kaiba noticed that Gwyn's purple eyes where fixed on someone in the crowd, Seto's eyes fallowed hers to see her sisters and his brother. Emi's eyes were fixed on the girl, never wavering. Gwyn was smiling widely as she belted out the lyrics.

Seto remembered overhearing Emi talking about her sister's singing voice, but this was… unearthly. He couldn't breathe; he had goosebumps all over his body. This girl seemed to sing from the very the bottom of her heart. Kaiba turned to see that Emi was crying as her blue eyes remained locked on her sister.

Once she was done, everyone stood up and started to clap. Seto lost sight of his brother and the girls, but he walked toward the spot where he had seen them. After a few moments of searching, he gave up and walked outside. That was when he saw them. They were all talking and laughing. Gwyn looked like she was the center of their attention; she had a slight blush on her cheeks. Suddenly, Mokuba caught sight of his brother.

"Br—Seto!"

The girls turned; much to Kaiba's annoyance, Emi looked totally confused. Turning to his brother, he heard her whisper, "I thought your brother was on a trip, Moki?" So she was going to act dumb; well, he was about to fix that.

"Well, it's nice to know I can trust you with my brother." Emi was slightly startled by the harsh disdain that dripped from Seto's voice.

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand…"

_If she's going to play dumb with me, then I'll show her. _Roughly, he grabbed Emi's arm; the young woman gave a small squeak and Mir's purple eyes widened.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing to my sister?!"

Seto looked around; he was starting to attract unwanted attention. Leaning over, he spoke so that only Emi could hear. "We need to talk. _Now_."

"Y-yes. Um, guys, I'm just going to talk to Mr. K-Kaiba… Um, over there."

Seto swiftly pulled her toward the left side of the theater, near the fence a nd out of the way of traffic. Because of his swift pace, Emi almost tripped, but Seto's grip on her arm was tight and he pulled her back on her feet before she even had time to think.

"So, Mr. Kaiba, what is—?"

"Why is my brother here?"

"Wha—?"

"I'm the one asking questions here."

Emi frowned and glanced over at Mokuba, who stood with her sisters. He looked extremely upset. _Blast him not telling his brother._

"Answer me."

_Then again, Kaiba would probably say no. Jerk. Well, Mokuba's not getting in trouble because of me._

When Emi looked up at Seto again, her crystal eyes had hardened, surprising the billionaire. He had never seen this woman as anything but a sweet, slightly sarcastic, but docile woman. This flair was new to him.

"I'm sorry, Kaiba, but I was under the impression you had been informed."

"But you failed to check to make sure I was."

"I apologise."

"Not good enough."

"Well, I'm certainly NOT going to get on my hands and knees to lick your feet."

Seto raised one eyebrow in slight surprise at her sharp remark; oh, she was going to get it now. "And what gives you the right to just assume that I would even LET my little brother go to my competitor's amusement park?"

"Well, I'm sorry, but this isn't about YOU. It's not my fault that you left your brother all alone. All I did was ask him if he wanted to come with us. I really couldn't care _less_ what you and your _company _think."

"Oh, so you KNEW he was one of my competitors were at odds with each other?"

"As a matter a fact, I did."

"So you did this on purpose!"

Emi took a deep breath. _Emi, calm down, you're acting as rashly as Mir. Don't let your temper get the best of you. _"No, I did not. I had free weekend tickets for four and I invited your brother. I'm sorry if him having fun was a problem with you."

"He's my brother and I have the _right _to know when someone just up and takes him to my competitor's amusement park!! And I would have _never_ let him go with someone like _you_."

_We're calm and collected, don't let him anger you. _"Mokuba was going to be sitting around that mansion all alone. I wasn't just going to let him do that."

"So, since you're his teacher, you assumed that it was your responsibility to take care of him? He's not one of your little immature sisters—whom I, by the way, don't know anything about, so what makes you think I can trust them—or you—with my brother?"

Wrong move: No one says anything about Emiko's sisters. No one, especially some puffed-up rich boy who was getting upset for nothing.

"Now, you listen here, you… you uptight stuffed shirt! I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't know that you weren't informed, and boo hoo, you're slightly embarrassed that we went to your rival's park. Well, let me tell you something: This isn't about you and your oversized ego. This is about him!" She pointed toward Mokuba, who had ended up getting cotton candy with Mir and Gwyn while they waited for their older siblings to finish figh—err, talking. "He didn't want to be all alone, just because you're a rich spoiled _beast_ doesn't mean you can just ignore your brother all the time! Do you have any idea how much he looks up to you?! I see how much time you spend with him!! NONE!! Sure, you're busy, but that is NO excuse for just taking him for granted!! And you have no right to talk about me OR my sisters like that!! And they are hundred times more mature than YOU!!"

Seto stood there stunned. No one, not even Yugi and his loudmouthed friends, had EVER talked to him like that before. And here stood this—this simpleton girl who was only here because her drunken father had lost her in a bet! He didn't know what to say to her onslaught of words. But Emi didn't give him a chance to. After her explosion, she had calmly straightened herself up and turned around.

"We were just heading out anyway. You can take your brother home; I'll drop off his bags on our way back."

The three younger kids were laughing as they ate their cotton candy, but when Emi and Seto joined, it slowly faded. Mokuba frowned slightly at his brother when he saw Emi's tense expression. Gwyn, also noticing, acquired a slightly worried expression of her own. Mir had a "you better tell me everything later" look on her face, along with a smirk that she was trying to suppress. Giving a sweet smile and completely ignoring Seto, Emi waved to Mokuba.

"Well, we're heading out. It was a lot of fun having you, Moki; I hope we can do it again soon."

Both Mir and Gwyn took this as the hint to get going.

"Yeah, see ya, Moki, that was fun. Next time we'll have to drag Gwyn on the Lighting Racer." Gwyn's eyes went wide as she shook her head, crying, "Nooooo," then turning to Mokuba and smiling shyly.

"Thank you for coming, and also cheering me on when I sang."

Mokuba beamed. "It was a lot of fun!! See you guys later."

Waving goodbye, the girls left the Kaiba brothers alone. Turning to his sibling, Mokuba looked up, but Seto didn't look like he was going to give the younger brother any information.

"Come on, Mokuba, let's go."

* * *

"I think Sissy's mad."

Mir grinned, looking over at their older sister. She was walking a little faster than normal, not to mention she was even more klutzy than usual. Turning to Gwyn, the brunette laughed lightly.

"Ya think?"

"We should kill Seto Kaiba."

"Wow, where did that come from?"

"He made Sissy mad!"

"I'm sure Emi could handle him."

Gwyn thought about that for a moment, then nodded. "He seemed even madder after he talked to Sissy."

"Really? I couldn't tell. He always seems mad to me."

It wasn't until they got into the car that Emi broke down.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, fists clenched and eyes closed tight. Silently. her two sisters watched her. "That stupid, stuffed shirt, snot-nosed, rich, bratty little—GAAAA I just want to wring his neck!! How dare he accuse me of, of, of—GAAA WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIM?! It's like he's PMSing twenty-four-seven!! I hate Seto Kaiba!! HATE, HATE, HATE, HATE, HATE, HATE, HATE, HATE, HATE, HATE, HATE, HATE, HATE, HATE!!**HATE**!! How can such a sweet, wonderful person be related to that, that, that… THAT horrid person, who is so horrid I can't even think a word strong enough for him!!"

"She seems to be doing pretty good so far," Mir muttered to Gwyn, who tried not to laugh. Emi gave a long sigh, letting her head rest against the steering wheel.

"What is it about that man that drives me crazy?"

"Maybe you're in love with him."

"Maybe he's the Devil."

"Or that."

Chuckling, she started the car, glancing at her sisters, who were both sitting in the back. "Sorry about that."

Mir laughed

"Actually, that was pretty entertaining. I wonder what Seto is saying about you right about now."Emi laughed lightly, remembering how she had lost her temper.

"Probably something I'd rather not know about."

"Probably."

"Well, _I_ still love you, Sissy."

"Thanks, Gwyn."

* * *

The drive home for the Kaiba brothers was a silent one. Seto was still rather stunned and a little more than furious at that—that—_underling's_ outburst. Finally, Mokuba spoke.

"Brother, it's not her fault you didn't know." He paused, looking down at his hands. "It's mine. I purposely didn't tell you because I knew you'd say no a-and I really wanted to go." Seto glanced over at his brother; he had never seen him look so upset before. "I don't want you to fire Emi." Mokuba looked up at his brother with huge, pleading eyes.

Seto sighed,

"Alright. You will need to call her tomorrow." Mokuba's face broke into a grin and he hugged his sibling tightly. "Thank you, Brother!"

Seto looked out his window. Just because he hadn't fired her didn't mean he couldn't get her back for yelling at him.

* * *

**Holyness!! 12 pages!! –faints- do you guys like longer or shorter chapters? Cuz I think my next few chapters are going to be around 10ish pages…**

**And there's lots more Seto vs Emi action, lol I'm having a blast writing it XD I'm really considering NEVER letting them have a romantic relationship and just fight until the end of time XD (hahah just kidding) **

**Anyway a HUGE thanks to my faithful reviewer codeblueeyes987**

**codeblueeyes987: **

lol well the only reason I ask is cuz this IS a yugioh fanfic and most of the times people who read yugioh fanfics are fans of Yugioh. Now if you had reviewed to one of my other fics I would have probably thought something different.

**Anyway REVIEWWWWW it's not hard, make me squee, and is just a click away –points down at the review button- I mean I even take anonyms reviews sooooo **

**REVIEW!! The writer commands you!! Yes you the one still reading my rather long and stupid after notes**

**-Liz **


	6. The slave

Mir's dark purple eyes scanned the clothes as she walked threw the streets with Yugioh, Tea, Tristien, Joey, his sister, Duke, and Bakura

**Disclaimer: until I get my chicken army to behave I shall not own Yugioh… but it won't be long now.**

**Notes: sorry this is to late, with drama class finishing up and a beach trip I didn't have much time for anything else. But now I'm back and ready for more. I have to say I really enjoy making Emi and Seto fight. I told Kit that I might just make them fight forever and forget about the romance XD**

**  
Edit: Sorry about taking the chapter down, everything seems to be in order now and I don't think that's going to happen again :D **

"_It seems, then, that this horrible beast keeps him prisoner. How can I set him free?"_

_-Beauty and the Beast _

**--**

The phone rang rather early—or earlier than Emi would ever expect it to. After the party their mom had thrown while they were away—which pretty much EVERONE they knew had attended—had gone so late last night, who would be calling at this time?

"Emi, it's for you."

"Thanks Gwy—" It took Emi about five seconds to realize who was giving her the phone. "GWYN!! Did you just answer the phone!?" In the bed next to her, Mir groaned.

"Five more minutes…"

Gwyn giggled, still holding the phone out for her older sister. "He's waiting."

_He? "_Uh, hello?"

"Hey, Emi, where are you? Don't my classes start soon?"

"Mokuba!! What—why—I didn't think your brother wanted me to—"

Mokuba gave a short laugh of dismissal. "Oh, brother's fine with it, so you coming?"

"Y—yeah, I just need to get dressed."

Emi could hear Mokuba laugh as she handed the phone back to Gwyn. "Just, uh, talk to him while I change."

Gwyn's purple eyes widened. "What am I supposed to say?"

"Anything! Ask if he had fun at the amusement the park or something!"

Gently, Gwyn put the phone to her ear as if it was going to bite her. "So, um, did you have fun at the amusement park?"

From her bed, Mir giggled, turning over so she could smile at Emi, who was rushing around trying to get dressed.

"Bad older sister, MAKING her talk to a boy, I disapprove."

"Don't you have school today?"

"…. Shoot."

--

"You're late," Satra hissed to Mir as the brunette snuck into her seat.

"Really? Darn, and here I thought everyone _else_ had just stared early for no reason whatsoever." Satra snorted and shook her head. Mir looked around then turned back to her classmate.

"Where's Bakura?"

"He went out to look for you, 'cause when you didn't show, he got worried."

Mir raised an eyebrow. "Bakura was worried'cause _**I**_ was late?"

Satra nodded. "Yeah…"

She never got to finish, because at that moment, Bakura chose to trip into class. The teacher frowned, but didn't say anything until the white-haired boy sat down. Mir could tell from his panting that he had been running.

"It seems like my class thinks that, since we had a long weekend, they can all come in late." Mir bit her lip, trying very hard not to say anything. She kept her eyes downcast until the teacher went back to his lecture. Once his back was turned, she glanced over at Bakura. He had been watching her from the corner of his eye, and when she turned to him, he smiled.

"Hello."

"You didn't have to go looking for me. Now you're in trouble, too."

Bakura laughed lightly. "Oh, I'll be ok, I was worried about you."

Mir gave a small laugh."I'm fine. I have two sisters who keep me in line—or try to, at least."

Bakura's smile grew wider. "You really love them, don't you?"

Mir laughed shaking her head remembering the morning's events. "most of the time."

--

Mokuba was off getting a snack while Emi sat in the study room reading a book. She was so absorbed in her reading that she didn't even hear Seto walk in.

"Ahem."

The brown-haired youth allowed himself a small smirk when the pale-haired girl jumped almost a foot in the hair. Once she had composed herself a little, she turned to the intruder.

"And to what do I owe this unwelcome visit?"

"I'm just here to make sure my brother doesn't become too dimwitted learning from someone like you."

Emi coughed slightly. "Well, you are free to get someone more _qualified_, no one is holding you back."

Seto's expression didn't change as he picked up one of Mokuba's books and flipped through it. Emi tried to return to reading, but his foreboding presence was rather… distracting. Biting her lip in frustration, she did her best to concentrate on her book.

"This is wrong."

Emi looked up to see Seto holding out Mokuba's math book. "This part here, it's wrong."

Giving a sigh as if she were about to help a very annoying, whiny child, Emi got up and walked over to where Seto Kaiba stood.

"What's the matter _now_?"

"This part is wrong; I can't have you teaching my brother incor—"

"Seto, why are you here!? And how come you didn't come find me!?"

Emi could have kissed the thirteen-year-old boy. _Thank you, Mokuba, I owe you one. _Seto closed the math book and put it on top of Mokuba's other books."I came to tell you I have to go to a meeting so I won't be home until after dinner. I thought you would be in the study room." Even though he was addressing Mokuba, his eyes were on Emi, who looked right back at him with the same daring expression. Mokuba looked slightly confused, glancing from Emi to Seto and back again. He sighed, deciding NOT to address the tension that filled the room.

"Are you going to stay for a while?" Mokuba asked, looking up hopefully at his brother. Ruffling the younger boy's hair, Seto shook his head.

"No sorry, Mokuba, I'm leaving now. I'll make it up to you." With that, he turned to leave. He was almost out the door when he heard Emi speak to Mokuba in a louder-than-necessary voice.

"Don't worry, Moki, I'll call Mir and Gwyn up and we'll hang out with you."

--

"Well, since you're done with school and the girls are done with their homework, what do you guys want to do?"

Mokuba shrugged. "I don't know, what do _you_ guys want to do?"

Mir smiled. "Let's bake a cake."

Emiko raised an eyebrow. "A cake?"

Gwyn's face lit up. "Oh, could we!?"

Mokuba shrugged, but there was an eager look on his face as well. "The cook's gone by now; we can have free rein in the kitchen."

Emi stood no chance with three puppy-dog-eyed children looking up at her. _Darn them and their power over me. I need to get stronger._

_  
_"I guess…"

Mir laughed, standing up and not letting her sister finish. "Then let's go!"

--

It wasn't too hard to find everything they needed: The kitchen was well-stocked. After pulling all the required materials out and onto the counter, Emi started to read off the ingredients for a chocolate cake from a cookbook she had found.

"Ok, Gwyn, you and I will make the frosting. Moki, you and Mir work on the cark part."

"Ok!"

"Yes, Captain."

"Ok, Sissy."

Everything was going very smoothly until Mir and Mokuba found the fancy cake mixer…

--

It had been a long day at KaibaCorp, and the meeting had been even longer. Those monkeys couldn't do anything right. All Seto Kaiba wanted to do was go home and relax with his brother. Maybe play a game or read a book. The first thing Kaiba noticed when he walked in was that there wasn't anyone around.

_That's right, today's the servants' half-day…. Well, I'm sure the cook left something in the fridge for us._

Seto stopped at the study room, surprised. No one was there.

_That's funny. Emiko and Mokuba are always in there when…_

His thoughts were cut off by the sound of voices and laughter. He turned around and followed the noise until he got to the kitchen.

"Uh, Sissy, I don't think you should use that thing."

"Oh, come on, it's s'posed to mix batter. Besides, Moki knows how to use it."

"Not really…"

"That makes it even more fun. Come on, Moki, help me get this batter in."

"But you already have it half mixed…"

"So what I want to use the fancy mixer, come on Moki"

Seto frowned. Since when had Emiko's rather annoying sisters started calling his brother Moki?

"Mir, don't mess… MIRATI!!"

Seto walked in to see Emiko push her sister and his brother out of the way as the fancy mixer splattered brown batter all over the place. Out of the corner of his eye, Seto noticed Gwyn crouching behind the island, safe from harm._ Well, at least one of those Hidenka girls has some common sense._

Emi was coated in the cake batter. She turned to Mokuba and Mirati, who were sitting in shock, looking up at the older girl. Both of them were trying to stifle giggles.

"Wow, Emi, you're covered."

"Hehe, sorry, Sis." Mir fell over, laughing at her sister.

"Oh, you guys think this is funny? Well then, who wants a hug from the chocolate monster?"

Both Mokuba and Mirati let out screams as they jumped up, trying to get away from Emiko. That was when Mokuba caught sight of his brother.

"Seto!"

Everything froze. Gwyn peeked at him from behind her hiding spot; Mir almost tripped she stopped so fast; and Emi? The blonde slowly turned, looking very, very… brown.

Seto eyed her, a small smirk on his face. "I see you were having fun."

From behind the brown coating of batter, Emi's blue eyes flashed slightly, then she smiled licking her finger. "What gave me away?"

--

It had been two days since the cake adventure, and Emi and Seto weren't getting along any better. In fact, they were probably more at odds with each other as the seconds ticked by. Seto was so annoyed that some young woman with no background could put up such a fight. It was like her very purpose for living was to drive him crazy. He was dwelling over this fact as he typed away on his computer, working, yet again, late. He was just thinking up a new way to put the young woman in her place when he heard the voice of the very female who was on his mind. It was her and her sisters' night to clean, and he had been randomly hearing snips of conversations as they walked around the building. They were unaware of the owner's presence, and Seto had planned to keep it that way. But when he heard his name, he stopped what he was doing.

"I'll tell you what I think of Seto Kaiba." Seto got up and leaned against the door as he heard Emi clear her throat.

"LOATHING! Unadulterated LOATHING! For his face, his voice, his clothing…"

"Yeah, that cape-thing is pretty amazing."

"Let's just say I loathe it all…" Seto stepped out of his office; Emi's back was facing his, her arms outstretched as she sang in a joking manner.

"Every little trait, however small, makes my very _flesh_ being to crawl…" Both her sisters were laughing—until they caught sight of Kaiba as he walked up behind Emi.

"It's so pure, so strooooong!" Gwyn gasped, her eyes widening as she saw the man the song was directed at. A small smile grew across Mir's face, and Seto knew she wasn't going to tell her sister.

"Though I do admit it came on fast, still I do believe it can last." Emiko was laughing as she belted out the song; apparently, she was enjoying letting out her feelings. Too bad he was going to ruin her happiness.

"And I will be loathing for forever, loathing truly deeply, loathing him my whole life th—"

"Ahem."

"AHHHH, KAIBA!! How long have you been there!?"

"Around the time of'I'll tell you what I think of Seto Kaiba.'"

Mir let out the laugh she had been trying so hard to hide. Falling over, the short-haired girl rolled on the floor as tears streamed down her face. Gwyn looked like she was trying to become part of the wall and Emi looked…Red.

"M—Mr. Kaiba… uh…"

He raised an eyebrow at her. Emiko hung her head, giving up, at a total loss for words.

"Sorry, Sir."

"Just get back to work."

"Yes, Sir."

Allowing himself a small smile, Seto walked back into his office. He had won this round.

--

Kaiba came to work in better spirits than he had all week. Of course, his newfound energy was about to be killed. Violently.

"Sir, you got a letter from the Union today." Once the white letter was placed in Kaiba's hands, the young woman scurried back to her station, not wishing to be in the cold young man's presence too long. Gruffly, Seto opened the letter and skimmed its contents. After scanning the paper with his cold blue eyes, he slammed it angrily on the table and turned on his intercom.

"Mrs. Chol, please call Cartter up here now."

A man in his mid-thirties came running into Kaiba's office less than five minutes later: No one makes Seto Kaiba wait. "You called, Mr. Kaiba?"

The young man didn't say anything, just handed his underling the letter. The older man scanned the letter, then turned to Kaiba. "So, the Union is demanding you get a director of employees." Seto nodded. Cartter looked over the letter again confusion written across his face.

"So what are we going to do about this?"

"Simple. Give them what they want." Handing the man a cream folder, Seto continued, "Just pick one of these bozos from the folder and get this over with."

Nodding, Cartter started to flip through the folder as he walked out. He was almost out the door when Kaiba's voiced stopped him.

"Oh, and Cartter? Try not to take all week. I don't really care who, just get _someone_."

--

"Oh, good evening, Mr. Cartter, how are you today?"

The administrator of hiring looked up to see Mokuba's tutor—what was her name again? —leaving the Kaiba mansion. The black-haired man nodded, flashing a small smile at the young woman.

"I'm very well, thank you, what about yourself?"

"Oh, good, good, just leaving for the day," Emi turned to leave, but Cartter stopped her.

"Oh, Miss…"

"Hidenka, Emiko Hidenka …"

"Right, Emiko, I noticed that you have an employee contract with our company."

Emi raised an eyebrow, unsure of where this was going. "Yes…"

"Well, I was wondering if you would be interested in becoming our director of employees."

"Ehhhh?"

"So, what do you think? It's a pretty easy job, mostly just checking off paperwork and making sure everyone is doing their job. Really, it's just to keep the Union off our back. Of course, because Kaiba is the head boss, he does more of the firing and hiring."

"Sounds like him," she muttered.

"So, are you up for the job?"

"Well…"

"She doesn't have much of a choice, since her contract says she has to do everything I tell her to."

Emi cringed at the sound of the one person she hated with every fiber of her being.

"Ah, Mr. Kaiba, I just stopped by to bring you paperwork on those new tech employees, and I bumped into Miss Hidenka here."

"And she was willing to take that job off your hands? Good. Hidenka, you will report to Cartter tomorrow at seven sharp."

"What about Mokuba's studies?"

"He's getting a new tutor as of next week, but he's going to be on a trial run, so you'll still teach my brother every other day until we find someone more suitable for that position."

Emi let out a low growl as she tired desperately to gain control of her emotions. She was failing miserably.

This was NOT her week.

--

"T—they want you to—to _WHAT_!?"

Emi frowned at her sister. Who was trying desperately, but obviously, not to laugh at her sister's plight. "I'm going to work under Kaiba as his employee manager or something like that. Basically, I take paper comments and complaints from the workers. And, seeing as Kaiba is the boss of this company, I'll have lots of complaints."

Gwyn's brow furrowed, her lavender eyes looking worried. "But, Sister, with" —She started counting off her sister's jobs on her fingers— "Teaching Mokuba, cleaning the building, and now helping employees… you will be working a _lot_." She held up three fingers so that her older sister could see them.

"I know, darn it! What do they think I am?! Kaiba's slave?! Next thing you know, I'll be dressing him!"

Mir laughed as she tied up a large garbage bag. "Technically, it's _your_ fault we're cleaning offices," the brunette reminded Emi. "Not that I'm complaining; I've never had so much extra cash for books and cards before."

Emi sighed; she was tired of this. All she had ever wanted was a peaceful life with her sisters. Gwyn looked up at the older blonde; Emi had been looking rather exhausted lately, and it worried the younger girl.

"Don't worry, Sister, things will work out. Besides, maybe it won't be _too_ much extra work."

"Yeah, and we can help you… if that's possible."

Emi turned to her sisters. Both girls were smiling encouragingly at their older sibling. Shaking her head, she smiled back. What would she do without them? Getting up. Emi pulled the mop and bucket out of the large lab room, but one of the wheels on the cart got caught on a wire, causing Emi to trip and fall. A few lights flared up while some others went red. Gwyn was at Emi's side in a moment while Mir looked over at the buzzing screens.

"Sissy, are you ok?!"

"Yeah, I think so, did I break anything, Mir?"

"Luckily, everything looks ok. Sheesh, O Klutzy One, be more careful."

Turning, they left, but the moment they were gone, one of the screens turned from black to a bright red.

--

**Poor Emi having to do all that work for Kaiba, oh well it'll keep her out of trouble. Or maybe get her into trouble. **

**I have to say I ADORE my reviewers!! Not only are they smart but they are funny to!! You guys all give your opinions and helpful hints on how to get better!! You are like the best reviewers I have ever gotten for a story!!  
**

**For all those who haven't reviewed yet… remember it HELPS keep this story going!! **

**Reviews: **

**Arana Is:** Yes Gwyn is too adorable XD I think it's something that comes with being the youngest (my littlest brother is too adorable). I think she's around his age, maybe a year younger, she does act a little young for her age cuz of her insecurity, she's going to grow out of it as the story goes on. And yes you would be correct if you were to assume there is going to be some BakuraXMir XD Mir is based off my best friend of proof reader Desert.Moon who is in love with Bakura :D there is going to lot's more of them (probably the most out of all the parings in this story)

**codeblueeyes987: **HAHAH probably XD Ohhh yes that's Mir for you, she's a bit of a… Rebel? Prankster? Just being Mir? (haha probably the last one) OMG REALLY!! HAHAH that rocks so hard!!

**Kankuro's Puppet: **ohhh yess Kaiba's going to make her life (even more) miserable, you just wait XD. REALLY!! Well Mir IS based of Kit so that's why she's the coolest :D I should have a pole on who's the most poplar sister :D


	7. Rain, Weddings, and other such things

Beauty and the beast 7

**Disclaimer: Me no own Yugioh**

**Well it's been a while, sorry about that, I really needed to finish another fic up since I hadn't updated in a month or so. I'm hoping that never happens with this fic. **

**Let's see… not much to say other then I turned 20 July 6****th****. It still feels kind of strange no longer being a teenager.**

**READ!: ok I'm thinking of having all my wonderful amazing reviewers vote on which of the Hidenka sisters you like the best. Then the sister who get's the most votes will have a little profile about her at the end of the chapter. So VOTE!!**

**Anyway with no further ado chapter 7 (more then half way to 10) **

"_Say 'yes' or 'no' without fear" he replied_

_-_Beauty and the Beast

* * *

She had been at this job for over a week now, and she had to admit that it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. Sure, sometimes she felt like a psychiatrist listening to the worker's problems—which they piled on as if she were one—but for the most part, it was pretty easy. Emi loved to help—or at least _try_ to help—other people with their problems. It had always been a weakness of hers, to help others. Her mother had said it was her caring nature—which, she would add, Emi got from her. Mir called her "the shrink."

Chuckling to herself, Emi put away the last of her paperwork. Today she had to been working in "her" office, which was pretty much a hole in the wall across from _Kaiba's_ gargantuan office. _So I guess my office is 667… hm, does that make me MORE than evil? _The size of the office really didn't bother her too much; after all, she hadn't been in the office for more than once a week—if that. The thing that DID bother her was how much more time she had to spend with Seto Kaiba.

_He drives me crazy! I swear, I have NEVER met anyone who invokes so many different feelings of __**hate**__ as he does._

As she pondered her hatredfor the owner of KaibaCorp, she couldn't help but remember something Mokuba had said a few days ago.

"_Why do you fight so much with my brother?"_

"_I don't fight with him, he fights with me." Mokuba chuckled at Emi's immature remark and fake pout. The young woman smiled back, shaking her head. "I guess we're just too different." _

_Mokuba's eyes grew wide, then thoughtful."I don't think you guys are THAT different. In fact, I bet if you REALLY got know my brother, you'd like him." _

_Emi smiled. "I'm sure I would." _

"_You're just saying that."_

"_No I'm not," Emi told the younger boy truthfully "The way you hold him in such high esteem and love him so much means he must have _some_ good in him." _

_Mokuba smiled nodding."I just wish you could get to know him like I do." _

"_Me too." _

She had been saying part of that just to make the younger boy happy, but it _was_ partly true. She was curious: What kind of man really _was_ Seto Kaiba? If someone as loving and happy as Mokuba could love and admire him so much, he must not be as bad as he acted around strangers.

Emi sighed, shaking her head. _There you go again, Emi, trying to figure everyone out. You really need to mind your own business. _

The clock chimed eleven and Emi squeaked in surprise. "I didn't know it was that late! Dang!"

"I'm leaving, so I'll walk you out."

If the clock hadn't given her a heart attack, Seto's voice pretty much did. "S — Kaiba!"

"Hurry up, I'd like to get to home _today,_ and I mean that literally." Emi was about to retort with a snippy remark, but then Mokuba's voice ran through her mind.

"_I bet if you REALLY got know my brother, you'd like him."_

_Then again, maybe I wouldn't. _

"Ok, hang on a sec, if you don't mind, I'd like to make sure I have everything." He waited in silence as Emi dashed around her small office, almost tripping on her chair, wastebasket, and desk. Once she had collected her things, along with a few new bruises, she followed Kaiba out. They walked in silence for the most part. Emi was glad: It was hard enough not to rebuke Kaiba's remarks. Emi wasn't normally one to backtalk like her sister Mir, but something about Kaiba's attitude just brought the worst out of her.

_Another reason why we weren't meant to get along, I guess. Sorry, Mokuba._

They had almost reached the door when Kaiba turned to her, his blue eyes boring into her; it was slightly unnerving. "I want to find out why my brother likes you so much." Emi thought for a moment, trying to come up with a good response to that. She met hieyes gaze steadily.

"I guess I could say the same thing about you, but you _are_ his brother. I'm not really sure why your brother likes me, but I really love teaching and spending time with him. He's a very amazing person." Then she headed out of KaibaCorp, almost hitting her head on the door on her way through the door. Kaiba watched her go, slightly confused by her words.

She made him so tired with her strangeness.

* * *

Bakura was walking toward the Hidenka house carrying a small package from the teacher. Mir hadn't been in school that day, so the white-haired boy had offered to take Mir her homework. He had remembered Mir remarking once that she hated to be behind in school, something that seemed rather out-of-character, but then, she always seemed to baffle him.

He was just about to strike the door when it opened, unable to stop his forward motion he found himself falling forward on someone, both bodies toppling over onto the floor.

"Mirati!!"

"Uh, hi…."

He instantly jumped off the brunette, then held out his hand to help her up. Mir laughed as she took it. "What are you doing here, Bakura?"

"This is for you." He handed Mir her homework; she raised an eyebrow, taking it from him and looking it over. After scanning through it, she glanced over at the boy, a suspicious grin on her face.

"Our teacher is being oddly kind."

Bakura laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, I offered to bring it to you, so you wouldn't get in trouble."

"Ahhh."

Emi coughing, making both teens jump. "Hey, Bakura," she greeted him, while Gwyn smiled and waved. That was when Bakura noticed the guns and breastplates that each girl was holding. Seeing his inquisitive look, Emi laughed slightly.

"We're going to play laser tag at Mokuba's house."

"With Mokuba," Gwyn added from behind her oldest sister. Emi chuckled and Mir rolled her eyes.

"Would you like to come with us?" the eldest sister asked. "We have one more set you could use."

Bakura smiled. "I'd love to."

"Great! I'll go get it!" Mir said, turning and dashing to her room, homework in hand.

* * *

Seto Kaiba came home to utter chaos. Of course, he was used to it by now: Those Hidenka girls insisted on being part of his life. Well, not really _his_ life, more like his brother's. Seto probably would have thrown the girls out of his house a long time ago, but after he had seen how happy they made Mokuba, he had decided to let them have their fun.

Opening the door, Seto was almost run over by Emi, who swerved at the last moment but ended up tripping and crashing into a small table, breaking a vase.

"Heheh, whoops, sor—"

"GOT YA! Ohhh, Brother!"

Emi sighed as her counter flashed, indicating that she was out of life points. Not even looking at Seto, the blonde started to clean up the mess she had made. Not too far away, two teens were closing in on the oblivious young Kaiba.

"Now, we have to catch the enemy unawares, seeing as Mokuba has the most life points…. Well, Gwyn might have more, but that's only 'cause none of us can find her."

"You know, that's probably an intelligent strategy on her part…"

"Whatever. Remember, once we take down the small one, it's every man for himself — or in my case, every woman."

"Haha, you sound so fun — AHHH!"

Bakura's foot caught on the rug, causing him to trip and land in full view. When he saw what the two older teens were up to, Mokuba turned and charged them, yelling.

"AHHHHHH!!"

"And you couldn't do this outside because…?"

Emi laughed, throwing the pieces of the vase away. "It's more fun inside. Plus, Mokuba wanted to."

"You do know that that vase is coming out of your paycheck."

"As hideous as that thing was, you should be _paying_ me for _breaking_ it."

From the other room, Bakura's voice could be heard calling, "I'm out."

Laughing and glad for an excuse to get away from Kaiba-the-older, Emi trotted into the next room to see Mir and Mokuba going head-to-head. Mir had one remaining health point while Mokuba had three. Suddenly, Mir's counter buzzed, indicating that she had been shot for the last time.

"What the —" Whirling around, the brunette saw her younger sister smiling impishly at her.

"Gotcha."

Then, dashing out of the room, she ran around so she could enter the other way.

"Look out, Moki, she's coming your way."

"Huh?"

_Bzzzzz._

"Heheh, I won!"

"Cheater," Mir muttered. Bakura laughed.

"This coming from the girl who won three times in a row."

"Your point? I won by the skin of my teeth! Mokuba is a ruthless player."

Mokuba laughed, turning to Seto. "I won five times, Gwyn won once, Bakura won once, and Mir won three times."

"So the mighty vase-breaker didn't win any?"

"Well, we all can't be obsessively competitive. Anyway, after ten games, it's time for us to go. See you Monday for classes, Moki. Good-bye, Mr. Kaiba."

"Bye! Come again soon so we can play more!"

"Good-bye, Mokuba,"

"Thank you for having us."

"See ya, O _Small_ Master of the Laser Tag."

Laughing, Emi pulled her two sisters — and their tagalong — toward the door. "Bye."

* * *

Mir grinned as they headed home, her hands behind her head, eyes forward.

"So, which game do you think was the most fun?"

"The one where Bakura won," Gwyn said instantly, causing a chorus of laughs.

"Gets me out; laughs, then trips, which causes him to fall, dodging Mokuba's fire and shooting him in the process. Gosh, Bakura, you have klutziness down to an art. You need to give Emi lessons."

Bakura laughed, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "I had a lot of fun." Emi smiled at Gwyn who beamed back at her older sister.

"We did too, we're glad you could come."

"Very glad," Gwyn added.

"You'll have to come again."

Bakuba smiled at the oldest Hidenka sister. "That would be lovely."

Mir grinned, turning to Bakura as they reached the house.

"Well, see ya Monday at school! And thanks for bringing my homework!"

Bakura nodded, smiling as well. "It was no problem. Goodbye."

Then he ran off, stopping once to turn around and wave goodbye once more.

"I like him," Gwyn informed her sisters as they waved back.

"Me too," Emi said, glancing at Mir, who just walked into the house.

"Let's get something to eat, I'm starving…. We got any banana bread left?"

* * *

Seto looked out the large picture window in his office. It was raining — no, it was _pouring_ outside. He was still debating whether to wait a few moments for it to slow down or to just leave now. He frowned at the downpour. He had promised Mokuba he'd be home early, but who would want to be out in that? Not that he didn't trust his driver, of course, and if he didn't trust the newly hired driver DID he'd just fire him anyway.

"Miss Emiko! You're not going to walk home, are you!?" The rather distressed voice of his secretary made the owner of KaibaCorp shake his head.

Of course. She would.

"Of course! It's pouring out! I love walking in the rain!"

Kaiba could hear the older woman giving a soft chuckle. "Well, don't get too wet."

"Don't count on it."

He got up and walked out of his office just in time to see the young blonde-haired woman running off. Deciding to go home himself, Seto followed her. He had a limo, so in reality, he wasn't too worried about the rain. He saw Emi saying goodbye to the front desk receptionists before opening the front door. She almost fell from a strong gust of wind. Letting out a shriek of delight, the young woman ran out into the rain, spinning around and laughing.

Seto shook his head as he walked to his car. He would never understand that woman. One moment she was a shy, silent girl who looked like a total pushover; the next, she was challenging him, backtalking everything he said. And then she was… dancing in the pouring rain.

_She's just insane. There's no other explanation for it, I guess. _

* * *

Mir gazed outside somewhat mournfully. Her sister had been right: It was raining. _Curse her and her rightness_. Before she had gone to school that morning, Emi had held out one of their slightly beaten up umbrellas.

"_It's going to rain," she had plainly told her younger sister when Mir had glanced at the umbrella, confused. Mir had glanced at the sky, which looked slightly cloudy, but nothing close to a rainstorm._

"_I'll be fine. 'Sides, you always run around in the rain." _

"_But I'm older."_

"_BYE!" _

"_MIR, GET BACK HERE!" _

"_Sorry, can't hear you!" _

Mir glanced at the rain that was pounding down on the school window. Now came the choice: Walk in the rain and hope her homework didn't get wet or wait the storm out. Another flash of lighting confirmed that the second option was highly unlikely.

A tap on the shoulder woke her up from her thoughts. Emitting a gasp of shock, she whirled around to see Bakura standing behind her, smiling pleasantly. He was holding a light blue umbrella.

"Do you have an umbrella?"

"No. I told my sister it wasn't going to rain; I hate her and her rightness."

Bakura laughed, despite the slightly puzzling nature of her final comment, and held up his umbrella.

"Well, would you like me to walk you home?"

"Are you sure? It's not out of your way, is it?"

"Not at all. Besides, we don't want your homework and books to get all soaked."

Mir laughed as she muttered under her breath, "Mind-reader."

After putting everything safely into her bag, both teens were on their way to Mir's house. It only took Mir a few moments to break the silence.

"So, Bakura, what did you think about this week's history class?" _Ouch, that was a lame ice-breaker…_

"It's Ryou."

"Huh?"

"My name, it's Ryou. You keep calling me Bakura, so I thought you should know that my name is Ryou."

"Oh, ok, Ryou. So, _Ryou,_ what did you think of this week's history class?"

"Your doodles were very amusing, but that was about it."

Mir almost tripped. "Was that… a knock… at our history teacher?"

Bakura — er, _Ryou_, Mir was going to have to get used to that — shrugged. "It was the truth."

They discussed a few more things. Mir was surprised how easy it was to talk to Ryou; she had been a little worried she'd run out of things to say, but her white-haired classmate seemed so easygoing and she soon forgot about her previous concern. They were almost home when Mir suddenly stopped.

"Oh no, Gwyn!" Bakura looked confused, so Mir filled him in. "My sister, Gwyn, I always pick her up… uh…" She glanced around, unsure of what to do.

"Well, let's go home, I'll get an umbrella and then go to her…"

"No, we'll walk there now, it's right around the corner, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but… you don't have to…"

Ryou's laugh silenced her. "It's ok, I like walking with you."

"Uhh… ok, thanks."

So they trudged to Gwyn's school, only to find out that it was closed and that Emi had already picked up the youngest sister.

"Sorry about that," Mir muttered as they walked home. Bakura shook his head.

"No, it's alright, I really don't mind."

Mir sighed. "You're too good, it's not good."

"Er, thank you?"

* * *

Seto arrived home at a decent time; after Emi had bolted out into the rain, he had made sure his business was done for the day, then he, too, had left. Only he hadn't been as stupid as the blonde: Instead of running into the rain, he called his limo and rode home. Like a normal person.

When he got home, a little earlier than normal, he took some time to look through the mail. Most of it was junk, which explained why he usually made someone else do the sifting… As he separated junk and important, he walked toward the dinning room where his younger brother was waiting for him.

"Brother! Welcome home!"

Seto grunted his hello as he sat down, still reading his mail. Finally, he stopped at a fancy gold-lettered one. After reading it, he passed it to his brother.

"Look."

Mokuba scanned it, then glanced over at Seto, a small smile playing on his lips. "Wow, seems a little soon, but I guess it _has_ been a year since then."

Seto nodded, taking the letter back. It was an invite for the most important gaming conference of the year. Seto would be receiving a few awards for his new games, as in the past years. Of course, he was always required to bring a date. This had always been the hardest part of these things.

"Well, you can't ask your secretary this time."

Mrs. Chol had been working for Seto Kaiba for, surprisingly, eight months. She was the longest-working secretary KaibaCORP had seen in years. She was also married and pregnant with her first. Seto had always used his secretary as his date to these sorts of things; unfortunately, this time that wasn't going to be an option.

"Why not ask Emi? I'm sure she would be free."

Seto almost chocked on his dinner. Almost. Regaining his composure, he looked up at his brother.

"What?"

"Why not invite Emi, she's really nice. She makes me laugh and I know you'd like her if you got to know her."

Seto rubbed his forehead. There was no way he was going to ask her.

* * *

"Yeah, and Ryou was there…"

Both of her sisters stopped what they were doing and turned to Mir. "Who's that?" Emi asked, confused. Gwyn's purple eyes lit up.

"You have MORE friends?"

"…No, that's just Bakura's first name." Mir smiled then paused glancing at Gwyn "Should I be offended by that question?"

Emi tried to stifle a giggle. "Ohhhh, so now he wants you to call him by his first name, huh?"

Mir frowned, unsure of where this conversation was going. "Yeah..."

Emi turned to the youngest, a playful smile on her face. "Gwyn, remember those wedding plans we had for Mir?"

"Wha… oh yeah, _those_ wedding plans…"

"HEY! How come I haven't heard of them?"

Emi turned dramatically toward the bewildered Mir. "We think you should marry Bakura."

"EHHH?! WHEN DID YOU GUYS DECIDE THIS?! Besides, he's just a classmate!"

"We decided it when you were at school a few days ago."

Gwyn nodded. "And I like him, too, so marry him."

"…"

"I'll be the Maid of Honor and Gwyn can be the flower girl."

"Wait. Don't _I_ have to like him to marry him?"

"You do like him."

"How come I'm a flower girl?! I'm thirteen! That's way too old to be a flower girl!"

"But secretly, Gwyn you're, like… ten. And even if you didn't like him, which we know you do, Mir, we like him, so marry him."

"Yeah, it's important that the family likes the groom, and we will only approve of Ryou."

"Who?"

"Bakura, remember, Emi."

"Oh yeah…_Ryou. _I even like his first name, it's cute."

Mir tried to pull a stern face as she mock-glared at her sisters. "Well, if I have to marry him, then, Emi, you have to marry Kaiba."

Emi blinked, her eyes flashing with a playful fire. "Mokuba's too young for me."

Mir rolled her eyes, trying to fight back a smile. "You know who I meant."

Emi laughed, shaking her head. "But I don't like him. In fact, I hate him, and you guys don't like him either."

"I like him."

Two sets of stunned eyes turned to Mir. "You do?!"

"Well, I like his clothes… they are… _epic._"

Emi chuckled, putting her hands on her hips. "You're just trying to change the subject, aren't you?"

"Possibly, is it working?"

* * *

Emi was just getting a few papers from the last problem case—er, employee—when Seto Kaiba walked in. Emi didn't even glance at him when he strolled up to her desk and stood before her.

"Sorry, but sessions are over for the day, if you have complaints, you can come tomorrow."

"You are going to do something for me."

"Oh joy."

Seto handed her the invitation. "You are going to this conference with me."

Emi raised on eyebrow as her blue eyes scanned the invitation. "What? WHY?!"

"Because I'm required to go."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"If I have to go, so do you."

"That's not fair!"

Seto just smirked at her shocked expression. "Why isn't it fair?"

"'Cause! I'm not the president of KaibaCorp! Heck, I'm not even related to you! Take Mokuba!"

"Yet you insist on being part of my life."

"Seto Kaiba, I HATE being part of your life!"

"I've noticed. Now get your things packed."

Standing up, Emi let out a growl. "I _hate_ you, _Seto._"

"Since when did I say you could use my first name?"

"Well, since you said _I_ insist on being part of _your_ life. If that's true, I might was well act the part." Her arms were now folded over her chest; her blue eyes were burning with challenge.

"You will get a formal dress along with the things on this list. I don't care where you get them as long as they are adequate. If you have any questions, just talk to Mrs. Chol." With that, Seto walked out, leaving Emi flustered and annoyed.

"Ohhhh, I hate him soooo much."

"I can still hear you."

"GOOD! I HATE YOU SOOOO MUCH!!"

* * *

**Kit was helping me write the laser tag scene and I was telling her how Mir won three games, then I was like, "But we better have Mokuba win more cuz we don't want Mir to look like a Sue," and Kit told me, "Right, cuz if you are good at laser tag, that makes you a Sue." lol I fond that funny cuz in a way it's true how hard people have to work NOT to make their characters seem too perfect in any way. **

**Anyway the only way a story can grow is by getting feed back from it's readers and mine are the coolest ever!**

Arana Is: HAHA that was a blast to write :D I love doing stuff like that. Emi didn't become the board of directors, she's more like the head of employs (it's like if someone doesn't like something they go to her and tell her about it and she does what she can to fix it) as for the dubble word thing something went crazy with my word program and it was rewriting some words for no reason. I have fixed and it it's all better now XD. Thanks so much for the lovely review!!

Unique Art: Yeah that was defiantly odd, I think it had something to do with the proof reading program my proof reader was using. But it is fixed and I don't think it's going to happen again :D And YESSS I love Emi and Seto fighting!! It makes me laugh and I sit up late at night thinking of new ways to make them fight.

cheeky half-demon: AWWW why thank you!! I don't think I'm going to be stopping very soon seeing as so many people like this fic. I even think I might have a sequel in mind but shhhh don't tell…

DarkestInk: Here's the next update!! Just for you!! –glompage-

patriot16: hummmm maybeee that's not a bad idea. We'll see if I can fit it in… in fact I think I had that same idea… :D great minds think alike

onica432: don't worry I'm working on it, in fact I have the end all planed out

cytl101: Why thank you, I enjoy writing this fic a lot so I don't think updates are going to slow down anytime soon

Ari Saki: -takes the lime- why thank you, I do love limes :D How did you know, in fact I have lime lipgloss (it tastes kind of like fruit loops XD)

**WOW!! 8 reviews!! I don't deserve the love you guys are giving me!! You're all so wonderful!! I can't tell you how many times I have read and re-read your comments!! You keep me working and giving me ideas!! I can't express how much I love you guys!! KEEP IT UP!! **

**-Liz**

**Oh and remember to VOTE!! If you don't know what I'm talking about go to the top and read the READ note XD**


	8. Party

Beauty and the beast 7

**Disclaimer: Yugioh is still not mine, but I am gathering together a chicken army so I may finely give Ryou the screen time he deserves. **

**The most amazing Desert.Moon wrote me the most amazingly sweet wonderful birthday story about my little princesses ****www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/4373624/1/Speechless**** just put a . where it says dot. I forgot to put this in the last chapter and I feel really horrid about it… I'm so sorry Kit!! I adore this oneshot so much!! So everyone go and read it when your done with this… or just go read it now XD **

**Also for this whole voting thing, I'm going to draw a picture of one of the girls each week with a little fact about them along with their fans. So like this time it's Gwyn (we're going youngest to oldest) **

**Gwyn: **

**Picture: element-girls(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Gwyn-reading-93671482**

**Fact: Unlike the two other sisters Gwyn wasn't really based off anyone. She does have some traits I use to have when I was younger along with some little personality quirks from little girls I use to babysit but no one really inparticular.**

**Fans: Unique Art and Arana Is**

**(remember to add who your favorite sisters is if you haven't yet!)**

"_The Beast is mocking us," Cried the Merchant; "he must have pretended to give use all these things knowing that I could not carry them away." _

"_Let us wait and see" Answered Beauty_

Beauty and the Beast

--**The Party**--

Emiko walked out of the dressing room of the small shop she and her sisters had found, an embarrassed smile on her face. When they saw her, both of her sisters gasped.

"Wow, Emi, you look beautiful," Mir breathed; Gwyn nodded shyly.

Emi put her hands on her hips, giving a small smile."What, no witty comment from the peanut gallery?"

"None."

"You look like a fairytale princess," Gwyn said, holding up the new book that Mir had gotten her from the used book store across the street.

Emi laughed, twirling in front of the mirror. "Now all I need is my prince charming to come riding up on his motorcycle—'cuz no one rides horses anymore—and save me from that horrid beast Seto Kaiba."

Emi stopped twirling to see Mir's reflection. The younger girl had "that face;" a witty comment or thought was coming.

"Why do all the princess stories have a Prince Charming? Why not a Prince Hotness? Or Prince Wonderful or, better yet, Prince Helpful?"

Gwyn shrugged thoughtfully."Well, he always ends up being all those things, so I guess 'charming' is just a summary."

"No way, charming is charming. Personally, I'd rather have a prince who was kind and generous and maybe even truthful before he was charming."

Emi laughed, shaking her head. "Well, now we know that Mir likes men that are the opposite of her own personally. I told you Bakura was made for you."

"HEY!"

"Well, _I_ want my prince to be funny and brave." Both older sisters glanced at Gwyn, who was still looking dreamily at Emi's dress. The oldest Hidenka smiled.

"Aren't you a little young to be thinking about boys?"

Mir laughed. "She's thirteen, Emi, not seven." Then, dramatically, the brunette put hand over her heart. "Our little baby is growing up." Emi rolled her eyes and walked back into the dressing room, Mir's voice following her.

"Well, what about you, Emi? What's your prince going to be like? You are, after all, the princess."

The light-blonde-haired girl frowned for a moment as she slipped out of her dress. "I guess, since we're pretending, I'd like my prince to be strong-willed, but very loving, with a sweet nature. Ya know, some guy who wouldn't frighten little children like Seto Kai…" Her voice trailed off as she opened the door to the dressing room, coming face-to-face with the very man she had been talking about. Next to him, Mir tried very hard not to laugh. Seto looked… Was that amusement on his face?

"So you found a dress?" His stony blue eyes flickered toward the clothing that the young woman was holding.

"Uh, yes."

"She looks like a princess," Gwyn informed the Kaiba brothers shyly. That was when Emi noticed Mokuba standing slightly behind his brother. _Figures he brings Mokuba to come with him while he plagues me._

Seto's deep blue gaze moved to Gwyn for a moment, then rested on Emi again and she wished with all her might she could sink into the floor.

"Is that so…."

"Yes, all she's lacking now is her Prince Charming," Mir added, snickering as she glanced at Seto. His eyes wouldn't stray from Emi; he was creeping her out.

Straightening up, Emi's sapphire-blue eyes met Seto's dark ones. "Too bad I won't be finding him anytime soon."

"And why do I care?"

_He's almost as sarcastic as Mir. Almost. _Putting her hands on her hips, she flashed him a challenging smile.

"Well, seeing as I have to spend my entire weekend with you, I'd have more luck being a graceful butterfly than you'd have being charming."

Seto raised an eyebrow, his eyes never wavering from hers. "Is that a challenge?"

Emi thought for a moment as she walked toward the check-out counter, then set her face in a firm expression. "Yes. Yes, I believe it is."

Seto allowed himself a small smirk, taking the dress from the blonde's hands."I never back down from a challenge." Turning to the cashier, he handed her the dress. "I'll be paying for this."

Emi blinked in surprise, then narrowed her eyes. "Buying my dress and flaunting your money around isn't what I called charming."

"And almost knocking over that stand of jewelry back there isn't what I call graceful."

Oh, the game was on.

* * *

Mokuba sat in silence on his brother's bed while the elder Kaiba packed –he needed to pack his own stuff, no one else was competent enough.- Seto could feel his brother's dark blue eyes boring into his back. Normally, having Mokuba around wasn't a big deal at all, but today it bothered him slightly. He knew his brother's inquisitive stare was because of his little 'game' with Emiko. It was very unlike Seto to even bother talking to someone so—so beneath him.

Maybe that was the whole reason he had taken her challenge. It was because she was little more than his slave, yet she insisted on openly defying him. Not to mention making fun of him. No one, NO ONE—not even Yugi and his friends—had EVER mocked him the way Emi did. No one had ever been able to come back with comments almost as fast as he said them. It was infuriating, and he was bound and determined to show this girl her place.

Even if it had started out being a childish challenge, he was going to benefit from it. Oh yes, he was going to show this little girl just who she was messing with. Her father had tried to challenge him and look where he ended up. His daughter would be no different.

Seto smiled as he packed the last of his clothes in his suitcase. Oh, this was going to be a very interesting trip.

--

The ride up was pretty smooth. Emi had a book to read and Kaiba had work to do. Emi had to admit, the fact that Seto could just ignore you without a second thought, even if it was rude, made traveling with him easy. She never had to worry about having a conversation with him for the five hours it took to get to the convention.

When they got to the hotel, the blonde was impressed by its size. The place was HUGE, and there were people all over trying to help her. It was almost frightening. But Kaiba just led her through the mob of people as if he did this every day. Then again, he probably did. Another reason she was grateful to have him there. _Then again, it's his fault I'm doing this in the first place. Never mind, I'm not grateful at all!_

Thenow-frustrated young woman sighed as she swiped her keycard to enter her room. Opening the door, she walked in and switched on the light.

The sight before her stopped all the thoughts that were running through her mind. The room was HUGE, PLUSH, and **RED**! Letting out a rather girly giggle, she slipped off her shoes and socks, then danced across the soft carpet, loving the feeling of it against her bare feet. Twirling, she leapt onto the bed.

"Oh, man, this is AMAZING!" she sang as she rolled around her fluffy bed. It felt like a huge pillow, it was so soft. Of course her joy was cut short by the sound of her boss knocking on the door that joined their two rooms.

"Yeah?"

"We're going to be leaving in a half an hour," the KaibaCorp president informed her as he opened the door.

"I think I find it creepy how you can just walk in here."

"I'm not going to be doing it that often, now stop acting like a little girl and get ready."

Sighing in defeat, Emi rolled off the bed. "Fine, see you in thirty."

Kaiba nodded, then shut the door. Emi was quick to run up and lock it behind him. She knew he could probably open it with a keycard, but she was also pretty sure he was gentleman enough not to just barge into her room. Then again, you can never be too sure.

After locking the door, Emi pulled out her dress and the other things she was going to need for the convention.

She gave a small sigh as she dressed. What had she gotten herself into? "Why did I open my big mouth in the first place? It's not fair!! I never use to talk back!"

Sighing again, she glanced at herself in the mirror. Gwyn had been right: The dress really did look like it belonged on a princess. It was a sleek red color and covered in a light shimmer. The sleeves hung loosely off her shoulders, making it look like she wore a scarf. It clung snugly around her waist, then flared out at the hips, giving it a full skirt. Though it was beautiful, Emi didn't think she herself looked that pretty.

"I make it look horrible. Why do I have to do this?" Brushing away a loose strand of hair, she rolled her eyes at her own reflection. "Well, looking plain is a good thing; that way, you stay unnoticed."

Emi had been worried about this party. She had never been one for parties in general, and she _hated_ to be the center of attention. The fact that she was going to be Kaiba's "date" (even if it was forced) meant she was probably going to be very… attacked. "I should have gotten a plainer dress." The image of Gwyn's big purple eyes admiring the gorgeous outfit had made Emi want to get it, but now she was questioning her choice.

"Oh, well, it was on sale. Then again, Kaiba got it so I didn't even have to pay…"

A knock on the door woke her from her musings. Grabbing her shoes, she opened the door to meet Seto. The president of KaibaCorp looked her over as if she were the newest gaming model. Emi couldn't help but shudder slightly under his cold gaze.

After his inspection was over, his eyes landed on her shoes. "Are you going to be able to walk in those?" he asked, a twinge of sarcasm in his voice. Emi bit her bottom lip as she glanced to her feet. They weren't too high of a heel, for balance purposes, but they weren't too small, giving them an elegant look.

"As a matter a fact, yes. Don't worry, I'm not going to lose to you."

"I am not worried, because I know I'm going to win."

Fighting back the urge to roll her eyes, Emi pushed past Kaiba. "Let's just go."

* * *

Both boss and slave—er, employee—walked into the party with a slight disgust written on their faces. Seto hated these things: They were just glorified gloating sessions where people came for the sole purpose of showing off what they had done.

All _Emi_ saw were a bunch of rich guys with their gold-digger dates. She suddenly wished she were back home in her simple little room with her sisters. To make matters worse, like she had anticipated, all eyes were on her and Seto. They reminded the blonde of a pack of wolves ready to attack their next victim. She unconsciously moved closer to Seto, feeling better in proximity to his uncaring and confident attitude.

"I don't like this place," she whispered, forgetting who was next to her.

"You get used to it," Seto told her, startling her back to reality. She looked up at him, surprised. "Of course, it's amusing seeing you so human."

Emi frowned, folding her arms over her chest. "What does that mean?"

"Ahhh, Seto Kaiba, it's good to see you again. And who's your beautiful date?" an older man asked. Emi recognized him as Mr. Trystar, the owner of the amusement park she had taken Mokuba and her sisters to. He, like Kaiba had earlier, looked Emi up and down. _Do all rich men look at woman as if they are objects? Creepy…_

"Er…"

"This is Emiko Hidenka."

"You don't happen to be Gayle Hidenka's daughter, do you?"

Emi opened her mouth to answer, but Kaiba spoke before she could. "Yes, it was easier to just take her than to hunt someone else down."

The elder man laughed, shaking his head."Oh, Kaiba, you crack me up."

Seto didn't seem to find anything funny in his statement; he was relieved when Trystar's much-younger date beckoned him. The moment he was gone, Emi spoke up.

"Excuse me, I can speak for myself."

"Trust me, you're not ready for these people."

"… So you felt the need to help me out?"

"Well, it'll save my company's face and _might_ get me closer to winning."

Oh yeah, she had forgotten about their bet. With this new atmosphere around her, it was hard to remember anything. Snorting, Emi looked around at the people who were gathering around one man who was welcoming everyone.

"Shouldn't we join them?"

Nodding, Seto led his blonde date into the crowd of people. He wasn't pulling her too hard, but Emi was still having trouble walking in her heels. _Darn I,t Emi! They aren't even that high! What am I going to do with you? _she yelled at herself as she stumbled, trying to keep up with the tall brunet's pace._ He could slow down a little bit_… _but then he wouldn't be Seto Kaiba. I guess that's just part of his charm—or lack thereof. _

After the welcome speech, Emi got a chance to take a look at the program. Most_ —_ok, all_ —_of the topics were above her head, but apparently Seto had already chosen which ones were worth looking into and which were just mindless drabble (his words, not Emi's).

"We're going here first, then here; by that time, we'll all be heading to the dinner and…"

"Don't I get any say in what we do?"

Seto looked at her, a small smirk on his face. "Oh, well, what would you like to do?"

"Er…" She glanced at the program again. "What about 'Duel Monsters Online: the next level of dueling'?"

"That's my talk."

" Really? You didn't tell me you were speaking… now I HAVE to see that."

"You didn't have much of a choice. You never mentioned you liked Duel Monsters."

Emi wasn't sure if that last remark was him being interested in her or him trying to find new ways to beat her at things. "I don't. Well, more like I don't know how to play. Mir, however, is obsessed. When I saw Duel Monsters, I thought of her. Besides, I need some stories to tell them, most of this stuff is way over my head."

Seto mentally rolled his eyes. _Why am I not surprised. Does this girl ever think of anything besides her sisters? _"So, you're finally admitting you're an idiot."

"I am NOT an idiot! I just don't understand this kind of stuff! And that was NOT a very charming thing to say!"

"Well, I'm still winning, since you can't even walk."

Emi gritted her teeth together, but didn't say anything else. When she got upset, she just got clumsier.

Most of the talks were boring, as Emi had suspected, since she had little to no experience in the gaming world. So, to amuse herself, she started to study the people around her, seeing which ones were really into the talks, which ones were bored, and which ones_—_like her_—_didn't have a clue.

She had also started to rate the speakers. Since she didn't understand what they were talking about, she decided to judge their public speaking. Some of them didn't seem like they had ever been the center of attention before, while others took to it like a pro. There was one guy she liked immensely. His name was Kevin Krash, an American speaker. Even though she only had vague idea what he was talking about, his happy, joking manner had her laughing along with the rest of the audience.

However, Emi had to admit that Seto's talk was probably the most successful. Not only did he have a packed room_—_everyone was eager to hear from the billionaire genius teen_—_but he kept their attention the whole time. Emi would never have guessed the somber, egotistic KaibaCorp president was such a good speaker. It wasn't because he was entertaining but because he was straight-forward and right to the point. The way his vivid blue eyes looked at everyone MADE them pay attention to him.

Once he was done with this talk and had answered a few questions, Seto once again joined Emi, who had struck up a conversation with one of the other "big wig's" dates. The young attractive woman ended up being the much older man's wife and was telling Emi how she had met her husband. Of course, the moment her own date came up, all conversation was lost. Giving a slightly annoyed sigh, Emi bid her "new friend" good bye and turned to Seto.

"Must you scare away everyone you come in contact with? I was starting to enjoy myself."

"I didn't even say anything, she left on her own."

Emi shook her head. "We need to work on our people skills."

"I am quite satisfied with my people skills. I don't talk to people and people don't bother me."

"I rest my case."

After a few more talks, they had dinner, which was_—_as Emi had expected_—_very rich. After getting served, Emi gracefully dug into her plate; gosh, she was starving. After a few moments, Seto, who had been unusually quiet_—_even for him_—_spoke to her.

"I think we should make this bet worth wile."

Emi froze in mid-bite. "Huh?"

"We're wasting our time on this bet if we don't get anything out of it."

Emi resisted rolling her eyes as she put her fork down. "You sure are obsessed with this aren't you. I guess they don't call you the former King of Games for nothing."

"I am not the _former_ king, I _am_ the King."

"Yeah, yeah, sure."

"I'm serious."

"I know. So, what do you have in mind, Oh great King of Games?"

"I want you to do whatever I say for a week **without** question or comment."

Emi frowned. "Anything within reason, I'm not… doing anything with you."

Seto looked confused for a moment, then disgusted when realization hit him. "I find the very thought repulsive."

"Good, 'cuz I had similar feelings. Now for me… hm…"

Seto raised an eyebrow."Don't you females have long lists of things you want?"

"Oh please, don't categorize _us females_. I want… er…"

Seto let out a small laugh. "You can't even think of anything, can you. I know everyone in this room would give their left leg for the position you're in. You truly are an idiot."

Emi flushed slightly as she tried to think of something she REALLY wanted that she could get from the great Seto Kaiba. "Gah, I really can't think of anything…" Around her, people were finishing up their dinners and walking toward the dance floor. Seeing this and the fact that they were both done eating, Seto stood up, holding out his hand for Emi.

"Fine. If you win, you get one request from me. But it really doesn't matter, because _I _am going to win."

Emi took his hand and let him help her up. "We'll see about that."

* * *

The rest of the weekend had been pretty unsuccessful, besides the headache that was plaguing Emi by the end of the last day. By the time she was back in her room for the final night, someone seemed to be stabbing her in the forehead. Not to mention she felt like she had been screaming all day.

"A good night's rest will clear it up," she mumbled as she crawled into bed. "I'm going home tomorrow! Things can only get better."

Unfortunately, it didn't…

* * *

--

**What's the matter with Emi? You'll find out. I hope this was ok, I know a lot of people use this whole "you have to go get all dressed up pretty to impress Seto" thing but my idea of them doing it was so fun I couldn't resists. **

"**Besides the dress was on sale" XD**

**Time for all those amazing reviewers! You guys make me feel so wonderful!! I can't even describe who happy you guys make me.**

**cheeky half-demon****:** Oh my gosh!! You have no idea how much I loved your review!! It made me laugh so hard!! I know poor Emi!! She hates it so much XD she's such a simple girl. To bad Gwyn couldn't have gone, I have a feeling she would have LOVED to dress up.

**Unique Art****: **first off love the name!! It's so pretty! Do you draw? That whole Bakura… er Ryou is a joke between my proof reader (Kit) and I. Cuz one day she told me "did you know Ryou is Bakura's first name" and for the longest time I kept forgetting that I would always be like "Who… oh yeah Bakura." Hahah sorry but I have a feeling Bakura… **Ryou** really likes Mir XD Lol how does Emi deal with her date? Not well. Lol Gwyn's first fan!! I never thought anyone would like Gwyn and her cuteness yet randomness. I'm so glad you like her!!

**Claamchowder****: **haha some how I don't believe that. Have you ever read "The Possession" ? cuz that is the best Yugioh fanfic out there. (or as far as I know) So I have succeeded in making you become a Yugioh fan again and becoming a Bakura fan!? SCORE ONE FOR THE CRAPPY WRITTER!! –glompage-

**codeblueeyes987****:** WOOT!! I love making people laugh!! In fact I laughed a lot writing this!! The whole vase thing was pretty much written on IM with my Beta whom inspired most of this story.

**Ari Saki**: wow that is sooo cool!! REALLY!! HAHAH that's AMAZING!! My family has called me many thing but they have never called me insane! Lucky you! I never thought about having a pole on my profile! I do want to know who votes for who so I can post it on the pictures I draw of them XD. SWEET!! I'm glad it was my story that got your longest review!

**Arana Is****: **Hahah don't worry! I haven't made it to Cliché so far have I? Basically I like to take slightly cliché ideas and then put my own flair to it. Making it uncliche XD. I have written several Sue spoofs so I'm pretty use to that kind of stuff XD. And really this is Emi we're talking about. She can't help NOT making a fool of her self, poor little klutz XD REALLY!! SWEET!! I'm so happy you like the RyouxMir stuff!! They are a blast to write cuz He's so sweet and gentlemanly while Mir's rather rough around the edges. I'm glad you don't think it was Sueish, I'm always worried about that, not sure why but I am. Haha well I can put you down for both unless you change your mind on who your favorite is.

**DarkestInk****:** Awww thanks so much for showing off my story to your twin. That makes me feel so wonderful!! XD by the way I LOVE your guy's names!! They are amazing

**Lightest'Ink****: **ohthank you so much!! Really!! I'm so glad because I don't have any sisters (just three brothers) and even if we don't really talk about the same things that the Hidenka girls do we DO kid around a lot. Your… what? My writing is horrible!! You should ask me Beta!! It's always covered in corrections when she sends it back XD As for ideas and stuff… wow thanks I just kind of write down a lot of ideas then mesh them together to make chapters. Wow thank you so much!!

**pottergirls****: **lol I don't even remember when I came up with the idea for the lazer tag XD but I did have a blast writing it. As for a picture of Emi in her dress… I'll try to get around to it. Right now I'm drawing a picture of her and Seto sitting back to back. I want it to look nice so I'm taking my time.

**Reiko The Awesome****: **haha me to!! I just love making those fight!! I think they like it to (in a way). Wow thank you so much!! I'm glad you like the story so much!!

**EmoLollipop**: first off your name cracks me up!! Would an Emo lollipop be black with a sad face on it? Lol This is Kaiba we're talking about, the epic is normal for him. XD He's really just a Dorky Nerd with epic clothes XD ya got to love him.

**Haha next chapter is going to be... very... funny. that's all i'm going to say. I have been planing the next chapter since I started this story so XD Stay tuned!**

**-Liz **aka** Element-girls**


	9. Fevered dreams

**Disclaimer: If I owned Yugioh I wouldn't have stayed up till 11 making yugioh icons… then again maybe I would XD… but no I don't own it.**

_**Now it's Mir's turn! **_

_**Fact: Mirati is based off Desert.moon (my beta, Kit) in fact this whole story is because of her and her obsession with Bakura, dragging me into this whole Yugioh fetish. Mir is so much fun cuz she just says what's on her mind… or does she? –laughs evilly- **_

_**Fans: Ari Saki, Arana Is, DarkestInk**_

_**Picture: element-girls(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Mir-chapter-9-94508283**_

**(Mir is dedicated to Kit, who will sit through boring long geeky card games just to hear Bakura say one line and knows litraly everything about him, from blood type to shoe size. I can't even do it if Kaiba's talking the whole time and I still have trouble remembering to call him Seto. She is the fan we should all model ourselves after… or at least sit in aw at) **

_When she fell asleep she dreamed that she was walking by a brook bordered with trees and lamenting her sad fate. When a young prince, handsomer than anyone she had ever seen came._

_Beauty and the Beast_

* * *

It felt like she was dead—no wait, dying, since dying was more painful than being dead. Yep, she was most definitely dying. Plus, if she were dead, then she wouldn't have to work for Kaiba anymore_… Man it would be nice to be dead_.

Emi groaned and opened her eyes. _Why does it hurt so much?_ Slowly, she tried to look around without moving her body—oh, the pain.

_Waaaa, I'm dying! I hope Mir and Gwyn have a nice life without me. And no, Mir, Gwyn gets my side of the room, and I'm giving all my books to Mokuba. This is all your fault. I'm not sure why, but it is…_

"_Hey, that's not fair! I hate you, Emi!"_

_Life's not fair, deal with it._

Letting out a cough that felt like it was ripping though her throat, Emi shivered. She was now hallucinating; maybe she really WAS dying.

Mentally slapping herself, Emi sighed._ Get a hold of yourself, Emi, it's just a cold. You have them all the time! But I've never had one this bad…_

Visions of her as a young girl sitting in bed with her mother and Mir reading stories came to mind. Emi groaned and shivered again.

_Ok, well, that was a long time ago._

Another image flashed in her mind of Gwyn and Mir sitting in bed with her, reading her stories and eating soup.

_Waaaa, I want my sisters!_

"Are you up yet?"

Seto's voice cut through her head like daggers. Oh, yes, being dead would have been nicer. Offering a sickly moan in response, Emi buried herself deeper under the covers.

"Go away and leave me here to die." Was that really her voice? Gosh, she sounded horrid.

Seto's footsteps throbbed in her head as he walked over to her. She winced as he spoke again.

"What's the matter with you?"

"I'm sick" came the muffled reply. "Just go home to Mokuba and leave me to die."

Seto rolled his eyes; she was sure being dramatic about this. Picking up the phone that sat next to Emiko's bed, he dialed a few quick numbers. "Hello, front desk? Send up a nurse to room 665, I have a sick woman in here who needs some looking at."

Emiko's pale hand shot out from under the blankets. "No, just leave me alone. I don't have any money for a nur—"

"I'm paying, now shut up."

Emi said something, but the blankets muffled it out, and Kaiba decide not to question her as to its nature. The nurse who appeared a few minutes later was very sweet, although she seemed a little uneasy under Kaiba's piercing gaze. Of course, Emi didn't blame her; the young business owner had parked himself on a chair across from Emi's bed and was silently watching the nurse check Emi over.

"Well, she has a nasty cold," the nurse informed Kaiba after she was done with her inspection.

"I can see that, what do we do about it?"

"W-well, she's going to need a lot of rest, and I don't suggest moving her for at least a day. Here's a list of things she'll need. I can send someone from the staff to go get it for you if you like. I also put my number at the bottom of the list in case she gets worse."

"I think if I get any worse I'll die," Emi moaned. The nurse had coaxed her out of her cocoon of blankets so she could inspect the sickly woman; Emi, who had always been rather pale, looked as white as a sheet. The nurse laughed lightly, then left, telling Emi and Seto to call her if they needed anything else. Once the bubbly nurse was gone, Seto went back to his seat.

"Do you have to sit there? It's kind of creepy…"

"Yes, deal with it."

Emi pouted as she folded her hands over her chest, her blue eyes glazed over slightly from her fever. "You're not very charming."

"The nurse said to keep an eye on you."

"That doesn't mean sit there and stare at me!" Emi winced slightly at the sound of her own raised voice.

"Go to sleep."

They both sat in silence for a while, trying to stare each other down. Finally, Emi snuggled into her sheets, averting her gaze. "You're supposed to be nice to sick people," she muttered as she started too drifted off to sleep. Seto couldn't help but give a small smile; she could be so childish some times. But he knew how to deal with her…

Most of the time.

Once Emi was asleep, Seto retrieved his laptop and started to finish up some work. Just because he wasn't able to get back to the office didn't mean he couldn't get something done. So, while the blonde slept, Seto typed away on his keyboard, making up for the fact that was he wasn't at his office.

He worked like this for a few hours until he heard Emi stir. Glancing up from his laptop, his deep blue eyes met her crystal ones, still glazed over from fever. She blinked a few times, then looked around the room as if not seeing him. After taking stock of her surroundings, her gaze landed on a large chair that sat in a corner of the room.

"Ohhh, what are you reading, Mir?" she cooed. Seto gave a slight cough and Emi blinked in surprise and confusion as she turned to him. "What are you doing in my room?!"

"We're at the hotel, remember?"

Gradually, the bewilderment melted away as the realized where she was. "Oh yeah…" Weakly, she tried to get up, but ended in a rather slumped position with a coughing fit. She glanced over at Seto with a slightly helpless expression; the brunet almost felt bad for her. Almost. "Can I see if my sisters are ok?"

"Sure."

He nodded toward the phone that sat on the small dresser beside Emi's bed. Slowly, the blonde raised herself into a sitting position and picked up the phone, dialing her home number. It rang three times before someone picked up.

"Hello?" It was Mir.

"Hey Mir, this is Emi."

There was a pause before Mir spoke again. "Oh my GOSH, Emi! You sound like the dead!"

"Thanks."

"Did you get another of your colds?"

Emi coughed in response; on the other end, Mir winced at the horribly painful sound.

Frowning, Mir put her free hand on her hip. "Is the Ice Queen there? 'Cuz if he isn't, I'll kill him for leaving you like that."

Emi glanced at Seto, who was back on his computer; even though he looked like he was working hard, Emi knew he was listening to every word. "Yes, he's here. I told him to leave but he wouldn't. He scared the nurse and a maid. I think it was his _wonderful _personality."

Mir laughed lightly, then fell silent for a moment. Not hearing anything on the other side, Emi spoke again.

"Gwyn? Are you still there?"

"Emi, it's Mir…"

"Oh yeah… Sorry. Oh, tell Gwyn to make sure she doesn't eat any of mom's cake. It has rat poisoning in it…"

"Ok, I'll tell her, can I talk to Seto?"

"Yeah, sure." Emi held up the phone for the young business owner. "It's for you."

Seto stood and walked toward the phone, taking it from the sickly blonde. As he put the phone to his ear, he could hear Mir laughing on the other line.

"Well, I'm glad you think this is funny."

"HAHAHAH, sorry, she gets pretty loopy when she's sick. Mom cooking for us…" This caused another burst of giggles.

From her bed, Emi gave another moan. "I'm going to DIIIIIIE." Seto frowned.

"Your sister said she is going to die."

"Good, tell her I get her half of her room."

"That's not funny."

"I thought it was."

"Just tell me what to do, she's starting to get annoying."

"Wait, I get to tell the great Seto Kaiba what to do?!"

"That's not what I meant."

"Too late."

Seto exhaled sharply, trying to control his temper. It took all of his willpower not to hang up the phone. But Mir was the only one who knew what to do.

"She can hardly talk and she's coughing like crazy."

"Just feed her soup and read her a story until she falls asleep."

"A what?"

"A story. Wait, can you read?"

The brunet let out a low, dangerous growl. "Is that all?"

Mir was silent for a moment, and the sound of Gwyn's voice could be heard in the background. "My sister wants you to know that if you kill our sister with your evilness, we know where you live, so don't read her a bad story." Seto sighed rolling his eyes. _Why me?_

"Oh, and if she starts talking about where the pink bunnies are, tell her they're sleeping."

"… I'm not even going to ask."

"Wise choice."

Hanging up the phone, Kaiba rubbed his now-throbbing forehead. He was seriously considering shipping Emi to a hospital and hoping she'd die there so he'd never have to see her or her family ever again.

The sickly young woman's coughing brought him back from his musings. Picking up the phone once again, he called room service.

"Bring up a bowl of the soup of the day to room 665, now." It came under five minutes later.

Emi devoured her meal as if she hadn't eaten in weeks. Afterwards, she obediently took her medicine and snuggled back into her blankets, looking expectantly at Kaiba.

"Where's my story?"

Seto growled slightly. Maybe he could use her fever to his advantage…

"Mokuba's going to read it."

"What, can't you read?"

Darn it! Why did she have to be so much like her sister? "For your information, I _can_ read. Very well, as a matter a fact."

Emi giggled a little, then pointed to a thick, green, hardcover book. "_Beauty and the Beast_, please."

Seto eyed the book's cover. _Famous Folk Tales, _it read. "Gwyn gave it to me," Emi informed him as she scooted over so that he could sit down. Seto saw what she was doing and rolled his eyes. There was no way he was doing this…

She was now snuggling into the blanks, getting conformable. She reminded him of Mokuba when he had gotten the chicken pox. Sighing in annoyance, he picked up the book and sat down next to her.

"You owe me big for this," he told her; she nodded solemnly. _She has no idea what I'm saying, she's so sick._

It took Seto longer than he had expected to get Emi to sleep. Even now, he still sat on the bed, typing on this laptop, unable to move for fear of waking her up. He had roused her an hour ago to give her more soup and meds. Then, after being read to again—Beauty and the Beast, it was the only story she wanted to hear—she had fallen back asleep.

Seto rubbed his eyes as he glanced at the clock, which read 1:00 am. It could have been a worse day; Emi was pretty easygoing as long as he did what Mir had told him and ignored her random chatter. And though he'd never admit it, the peaceful sleeping body next to him was rather relaxing.

But he was still planning on getting her back for this

* * *

Emi was walking in a large grass field, wild flowers blew gently in the light breeze that swept over the meadow; she saw her two sisters running around, playing and laughing. Emi watched them for a while then she changed direction and started to walk down along a river. Suddenly, she wasn't alone: There was a guy next to her. She turned and smiled at him, for some reason feeling like she knew him.

"Hey."

He smiled back; it was a nice smile, filled with love and strength. It reminded her of someone, but she couldn't remember who.

"Hi."

They both walked in silence for a while. Emi couldn't help but feel safe around him, something she hadn't felt since the death of her sister. Slowly, they stopped; they were back at the park where her sisters were playing. Some other people had joined them; Emi couldn't quite make out who they where or what they were doing, but they all looked like they were happy. Emi sighed, content.

"I wish we could be like this forever," she whispered. "Safe and happy."

"You will be."

Emi looked to the young man next to her. "Huh?"

He turned to her, his face stern and determined.

"You _will_ be safe and happy; you just have to wait it out. Stay with what you have now, it'll work out." Emi squinted. Where had she seen this man before? "Besides," he continued, "I never let anything bad happen to my family."

* * *

"Hello, Mirati, Gwyneira"

"Oh, hi, Ryou, what are you doing here?"

"I was just taking a walk when I saw you."

"Hi, Bakura!"

Bakura smiled down at Gwyn, then turned back to Mir. "Where's Emi?"

Mir snickered at memories of the phone call. "She went on a business trip with Kaiba, but she got sick."

"Oh, I hope she gets better soon."

"I don't, it's funny when she's sick."

"We wanted to get out while she was gone."

The white-haired boy smiled again at Gwyn, who was holding a small bag of bread crumbs in her hand. "And what are you going to do with those?" he asked.

"We're going to feed the poor with stale bread crumbs, have you ever seen it? It's pretty cool. You throw them and a mob of homeless people will come running and start picking them up off the ground."

Ryou looked mildly alarmed. Trying hard not to laugh, Mir added quickly "I'm being sarcastic." A smile broke out on the young man's face.

"Ohhh, I'm sorry."

Mir grinned. "It's ok."

"You'll just have to hang out with us and get used to Mir's sarcasm," Gwyn added. "And we're feeding the pigeons, wanna come?"

"I wouldd love to join you."

After finding a good spot, Gwyn started twirling around, scattering crumbs while Mir and Ryou stood watching her.

"She looks like a sprinkler," Mir remarked as she watched her sister. Bakura burst out laughing.

Looking confused, Mir turned to her classmate. "What?"

"Hahah, sorry that was just rather… random."

Mir smiled slightly. "I do that a lot."

Ryou shook his head, trying to control his laughter."I noticed." He paused for a moment, gazing at her as she watched her sister throw more crumbs. "You're very different when you're with your family."

Mir turned to him, puzzled. "Really? How?"

He shrugged. "You're more relaxed, more… yourself. I like it."

That startled Mir: No one had ever told her that they enjoyed her obnoxious attitude. Well, Emi always told her that she made her laugh, but older sisters didn't count, especially when your older sister was Emi. "Um, thank you?"

He smiled at her. "You're welcome."

After all her bread crumbs were gone, Gwyn ran back to her sister. "Sorry, did you want to feed the birds, too?"

"No, it's ok, I had more fun watching you do it."

Gwyn smiled, then turned to Bakura. "Now we go for a walk around the park, want to come on that, too?"

"I'd love to."

The walk was pretty peaceful; they pretty much just chatted about nothing. Mir liked getting Bakura to laugh; it was so easy. She could comment on almost _anything_ and he would burst out laughing. His laughter seemed to spread, making both girls laugh along with him. Finally, they stopped walking and sat on a bench overlooking the huge pond in the middle of the park. Mir looked out at the water, lost in thought.

"Cotton candy! Get your cotton candy!"

Bakura glanced up at the vendor, then turned to the girls. "Would you two like some cotton candy?"

"Yes please!!"

"…"

"Mirati?"

"Hum? Oh, sure, whatever you want…"

He stood and walked over to buy two large sticks of the blue fluff. Bringing them back, he held one out for Mir to eat. Gwyn watched in interest as she munched on hers. Smiling up at Bakura, Mir took a bit and put it in her mouth.

"You didn't have to buy us anything."

"It was my pleasure; I'm having fun."

Mir nodded. "Me—Gah, this is cotton candy!"

Bakura looked confused. "Yes, I know."

"Ugh, I hate cotton candy."

"You do? I'm sorry, I can get you something else!"

"No, it's ok," Mir laughed. "Man, talk about spazzy, HAHA I forgot I hated cotton candy…" Her classmate chuckled as he took a bite of Mir's cotton candy instead.

Their walk home was one laugh after another as Mir explained where her sister was and how she had ended up going there.

"Your family sounds like a lot of fun."

"Well, my sisters are."

"Do you have family, Bakura?"

Mir blinked; she suddenly felt bad that she had totally forgotten that Gwyn had even been there. The little girl had been so silent. Ryou smiled sadly and suddenly both sisters had a feeling Gwyn shouldn't have asked the question.

"Yes, I do."

"Do they live around here?"

"Gwyn… Ryou, you don't have to answer…."

"No, it's alright. No, my family doesn't live here."

Gwyn's purple eyes grew wide. "Does that mean you live alone?"

"Yes."

He looked so sad that Mir had to say something, "Well, uhhh… you can be our new brother! I've always wanted a brother." Gwyn, who had looked almost as upset as the white haired boy, lit up and nodded energetically.

"Yeah!"

Bakura looked shocked. "W-what? Really?"

"Yeah, that way I can really torture you."

"Sounds like fun."

"Oh, it is, trust me."

* * *

When Emi got home, she was bombarded by two very worried sisters.

"OH, EMI! You got sick and we weren't even there to help you! Are you feeling ok?"

"Hahaha, that phone call I got was so funny, poisoned cake…"

Ok, _one_ very worried sister.

Gwyn had buried her face in her older sister's jacket. "Don't ever leave again!" Behind her, Mir rolled her eyes.

"She gets so upset when you're gone."

Emi laughed lightly. "I'll try not to leave too much, k?"

"Ok."

"Want to help me bring my stuff upstairs?"

"So how sick were you really? I mean, you sounded like the dead on the phone."

"I thought I was going to die, and I was going to give my part of the room to Gwyn."

"Wait… WHAT?!"

Emi laughed as she put her suitcase on her bed. "Aand all my books to Mokuba."

"WHAAAAAAAT?!"

"…And I'd give you my Duel Monster cards."

Mir sat down on her bed, frowning. "But you don't have any cards."

Emi snickered, winking at her younger sister. "I know."

The brunette snorted, folding her arms over her chest. "Well, I wish you HAD died at the hands of the Ice Queen."

"But Kaiba's a boy…"

Gwyn frowned, wagging a finger at her older sister. "Mir, that's not very nice."

"Easy for you to say! You get her side of the room! She deserves to die!"

Emi burst out laughing at her younger sister's pout. It was so good to be home.

* * *

"So, who won anyway?"

Emi smiled at the ceiling. It was a bit after ten and the girls were in bed. Mir was flipping through some Duel Monsters magazine and Emi was lying in her bed, resting; Gwyn was sleeping beside her, happy to have her older sister back. "Him, I guess."

_Emi was sitting in Kaiba's private jet, wrapped in a blanket, sniffing slightly. She had to admit, the whole time she had been sick, he had been at her side. It had been annoying at first because Emi wasn't used to anyone but her sisters helping her with things. Two days later, her fever had dropped, so Seto had wrapped her up and they went home. The whole trip back, he had acted as if she were made of glass. _

_It was almost funny—or it would have been, if it hadn't been Seto. They had been two hours into the trip when Emi had finally admitted defeat. _

"_You win, I guess," she mumbled, looking at him with an unwilling expression on her face._

"_Did your fever go up?"_

"_That's a Mir comment." _

_He gave one of his infamous smirks. "I knew I was going to win from the beginning. No one like you could never beat me."_

"_Don't make this harder for me than it already is."_

"_Don't worry about that."_

"I hate him."

"Hate is a strong emotion," Mir laughed as she flipped a page of her magazine. Emi chuckled a little, memories of the past weekend coming back to her.

"Yes it is."

"You know…" Mir paused for effect, her eyes never leaving the book. "They say hate can turn into some really hot love."

Emi sat up, shocked. "WHAT?!" Screaming. she threw her pillow at her sister, who ducked. "Where did you hear that?!"

Mir laughed as she tossed her the pillow back at her blushing sister. "I made it up."

"I thought so! You're just trying to make me marry Seto so we can be rich."

She grinned, unashamed. "Yep!"

* * *

**As much as I was tempted to make Emi end up sick and snuggling with Seto I restrained my inner fangirlness. I don't think it would help my attempt at an original plot. So sadly I scraped the whole part (it was only 2 paragraphs long but still) you can all applaud… or shake your heads with pity for the poor deranged fangirl… which ever ; **

**Lol woot!! Next chapter done!! I spent all week working on chapters of this, cleaning up the plot for the sequel (yes there is going to be a sequel, anyone want to guess what it's about?), making yugioh icons, and drawing pictures. :D anyway time to thank the coolest reviewers –hugs them- **

**Unique Art****: **Ahhh I see, well it's a really creative name 3. Awww thank you so much!! I wanted to draw something that showed a little more of her hair style, I really like it a lot XD Yeah she's a really cutie, right now it's pretty much a toss up between her a Mir, their humor is so different that's probably why people like them XD

Hahaha I'm sure Ryou will be VERY happy with Mir XD and I'm sure her sisters will be (even more) happy. Hahah I've never been a fan of Seto suddenly turning ooc, its hard enough to make him IC I couldn't rune it by suddenly making his ooc… maybe later I'll ease him out of it (ya know he's got to grow up sometime) but not now. Ahhh me to, poor Emi she just can't walk

**SS-lover06**: Why thank you!! And I loved getting your review!! I hope you liked this chapter just as much.

**killthesnakesx**: I'm so glad!! Well here's the next chapter XD just for you

**Reiko The Awesome****: **really!! WOW thank you so much!! But it's really not the BEST… there are loads better fics then this one XD really? Did it surprise you in a good or bad way? Cuz I mean he has to act somewhat of a gentle man in public, not to mention he's betting with Emi. Lol poor Emi is coming down with a cold (as you can see) I couldn't help myself I HAD to add that in there.

**Lightest'Ink****:** lol I've never been very good at cliffies XD but thanks I was hoping to make my reads want to read the next chapter a little more.

**DarkestInk****:** Mir ROCKS!! She's so funny and always saying the best lines in the whole story. Of course Gwyn will sometimes steal some but still Mir is the queen of best one liners XD

**Arana Is**: Thanks I draw about as much as I write. Ok that sale thing is me ; I can't buy anything if it's not on sale… I have no idea why but I just can't. haha Yeah I didn't think ANY other girl would WANT a dress that wasn't super fancy and really expense, normally Kaiba ends up buying it to. But Emi is the kind of girl who hates to do anything for herself so getting a dress on sale seemed IC for her. Haha Ok XD they are both so amazing!! It's hard to chose.

Ohhh I'll have to check it out!! I haven't had much time to do much lately but I'll read it as soon as I can! I love reading stuff from my reviewers!!

**Archerygrl1992****:** Thanks! I'm so glad you like this story so much!! It makes me happy when people enjoy the stuff I do.

**Claamchowder****:** haza!! My new DA FRIEND!! –glomps you-. You haven't read it!? OHHH DO READ IT NOW!! It's AMAZING!! It was funny cuz it was the first Yugioh fanfic I read and pretty much I haven't been able to find anything that can top it –laughs.- Well when I was 13 my writing sucked so bad I burned it then danced on the ashes XD (ok not really but) practice makes perfect. The best thing I can suggest for writing is read a lot and see how other people write, it's ok to study other writing styles so that you can make your own. I have also found that reading bad writing also helps. It helps you to keep an eye out for what you DON'T want.

And you know KIT!! She's always talking about you XD We think you're the coolest.

**P260even****:** WOOT!! HEY!! –glomps- that's ok I haven't been reading and commenting to as many things I would like either… how some in the summer I seem to be MORE busy!? Yeah I changed the name cuz a few people said it would be a better idea. It's ok really!! I still love ya!! –glompage- haha Mir makes me laugh to, XD and I think Gwyn is like the ultra little girl even if she really is 13 –laughs- grow up Gwyn!! Sorry Emi doesn't win, I wanted her to but I was like "Kaiba always wins… sorry Liz he has to win." YES THEY DOES!! Gosh how can I compare to such greatness? Awww thanks –hugs- haha don't worry I'm trying really hard not to make them OOC, I'm even sitting through long and boring card games to study Kaiba (I normlay just fast forward through them.) LOV E YOU TO!!

**Wow I got 10 reviews!! You guys are so amazing!! I think I'm going to cry –sniff- You all MAKE this story! With all your ideas, thoughts or just comments. You have no idea how much I go "ohhh inspired!! Must add that to the story" or "hummm she/he's right… I should do something like that" or just "AHHHH I LOVE THIS PERSON!!" **

**Love you all beyond words!! **

**-Liz **


	10. Chaptershipping

Disclaimer: I STILL don't own Yugioh but my army of chickens was so close… but we got side tracked by all those ships –is shot by her bad joke-

the name for this chapter is called Chaptershipping because Kit and I have been sailing sinking ships all week XD (we're losers ok deal with it)

Ahhh chapter 10 the big 1 0

1

O

One

Zero

Lol ok anyway it's Emi's turn!

Emi is based off a few people but there is a part of her that is based off my good friend Ceci and her fights with some of the drama guys. Ceci has such a strong will and knows just when to say her options I found myself using a lot of her while writing Emi. Both Ceci and Emi also don't have very vivid plans on their future, they are just kind of happy to life in the present and don't have high goals they are reaching for. The other part is me, her way of always feeling like she has to help people, I tend to do that…. A lot.

Fans: Ceci (didn't tell her she was based off her until later when she was telling me how much she loved her)

Picture: element-girls(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Emi-Chapter-10-94902070

_"What can I do, prince, to make you happy?" said Beauty _

_"Only be grateful" He answered, "and do not trust too much to your eyes. And, above all, do not desert me until you have saved me from my cruel misery"_

Beauty and the Beast

* * *

Seto was sitting on the table next to Mokuba when Emi came in. The first thing the Kaiba brothers noticed was the large, purplish-blue mark on her cheek. Mokuba's eyes grew wide.

"Emi! What happened to your cheek?" Emi laughed, lightly touching the bruise.

"Oh, this? Just my dad hitting me again."

Her joke was followed by stunned silence; Emi's crystal blue eyes turned from laughter to panic "What? Wait, you guys believed me?! Oh no, I was just joking! I fell…. And hit it on the table corner… Hehe, I'm a HUGE klutz, especially after getting over that cold."

Mokuba laughed while his brother just grunted in disgust.

"Idiot."

"Yet you still let me teach your brother, so what does that make you?"

Seto just kept on typing. Emi laughed as she sat down next to Mokuba.

"Ok, let's get cracking on those books!"

After a few hours of work, the phone rang. Picking it up, Seto spoke for few moments, then hung up. Closing his laptop, he gave a small sigh "Those dorks in programming can't so much as program a VCR without me holding their hands. Mokuba." His younger brother looked up.

"I'll be home late, don't wait up for me."

Mokuba looked downcast. "Oh, ok."

Emi glanced up at him from the homework she had been grading. Smiling warmly, she put down the paper. "Hey, don't worry, we'll hang out with you."

"I don't know about your sisters, but _you_ are coming with me."

"Wha—?"

Seto held up a hand to silence her. "Deal, remember?"

Letting out a low growl, Emi stood up. Seto suppressed a smirk. "You're still resisting."

Putting on a sickly sweet smile, Emi stood up as she spoke through her teeth."Whatever you say, Mr. Kaiba, Sir."

"Much better."

* * *

"Mirati."

The brunette was just taking what she needed out of her locker when the principle's secretary addressed her. Turning she smiled ,"Yes?"

"Your sister just called to tell you that she won't be home until late, so please pick up Gwyn and go hang out at Mokuba's."

"Oh, ok, thank you."

"You are very welcome, Mirati."

"Hey, Mirati."

The brunette turned to Ryou, Yugi, Joey, and the rest of their little posse. "Oh, hey, guys."

Téa smiled, flipping her short hair. "We were wondering if you would like to go hang out with us at the park."

Mir couldn't help smiling._ Let me guess: Ryou put them up to it._ "Oh, well, I have to pick up my sister and we were going to go hang out at Mokuba's."

Joey looked shocked. "You're gonna hang out _where?_"

"Mokuba's. Ya know, Mokuba Kaiba, brother of Seto Kaiba, the billionaire kid who doesn't know how to smile?"

"I know WHO he is, I was just wondering WHY you guys were hangin' out with him."

"'Cause he's cool."

Joey looked like he was about to say something else, but Yugi interrupted him. "Well, Mokuba's welcome to come, too, we were just going to hang out." Mir tossed the idea around; it wouldn't hurt to hang out with some other kids, and she was sure Gwyn would like it.

"Sure, why not, I'll meet you guys at the park once I get the little ones."

* * *

Both boss and employee sat in silence as the limo pulled out of the Kaiba mansion. It was true that, on the trip to the conference, Emi had been fine with the silence, but today it felt like a huge thick fog of nothing. The sound of the traffic outside seemed to chant, "it's too quiet, it's too quiet."

Sighing, Emi leaned back into her seat. Seto was sitting across from her, arms folded. His sapphire eyes seemed to saying the same thing. _Why is our silence uncomfortable now when just a few days ago we were fine with each others' presence? It's probably because of me being sick and everything… Hey, that's something we can talk about._

"So… uhhh… how bad was I when I was sick?"

Emi could have sworn she saw a small flicker of a smile on Seto's face. Then again, maybe it was just a trick of the light. "You were… interesting; you had me read _Beauty and the Beast_ at least fifteen times."

Emi felt herself blush slightly. "Hehe, sorry, I tend to want a specific story when I'm sick."

"So I noticed. I have to say, I never liked _Beauty and the Beast_."

Emi laughed lightly. "Why am I not surprised you wouldn't like my favorite fairy tale?"

Seto rolled his eyes. "It's your favorite? It's just a beautiful, perfect girl who charms a beast. Is that all you females think about? Charming us men until we become handsome princes?"

Emi shook her head, trying hard not to laugh at his rash judgment of the story. "In your case, you'll stay a beast all your life, no matter who tries to charm you."

"Hmph. I just can't see why you like it so much."

Emi sat in silence for a moment, trying to think of the right words to describe why that story in particular had always been her favorite. "Beauty and the Beast is more than a pretty girl charming a beast. In fact, that isn't even the real story. It's about a young girl who throws away her life and dreams to save her father's life from a monster. It's only after a while of living with said beast that she realizes that he's not really the cold, overpowering monster she thought he was, but an awkward young man who just wants to be loved."

Seto frowned, thinking about her answer for a moment before speaking. "That's just stupid, and unrealistic. What if the girl had ended up being a normal girl and not this super perfect girl? What if she wasn't the type of person who could see past his exterior?"

Emi rolled crystal eyes. He was such a man.

"Well, the fact that she volunteered to go instead of her father proves that she was loving. That means she probably WOULD see past people's exteriors. As for being perfect, if she were perfect, she would have agreed to marry him right away. I mean, since she was living with him for the rest of her life anyway, what different could it be if she married him? But she said no because, at first, even she couldn't see through his cold act."

Seto snorted, obviously finding her response very silly. "You're just reading into the story too much. But what could I expect from you? You seem to read too much into everything."

Emi laughed, brushing away a loose strand of her platinum blonde hair. "My mom once told me you can learn a lesson from everything." They were now pulling up to KaibaCorp, but Seto didn't' seem to notice: He was too wrapped up in their conversation.

"Oh, really. Well then, tell me what you learned from your father betting you in a card game. Never trust fathers?"

Emi snickered. Tthat bet seemed so long ago. "No, I learned never drink too much and above all, never try to win against Seto Kaiba. I think we're here."

Seto smirked. "Now _that's_ something you should remember for the rest of your life."

To his surprise, Emi burst out laughing. He had never seen her laugh so hard before. "Oh my _gosh,_ Seto! You have got to be the funniest person I have ever met! Your vanity never ceases to amaze me!"

* * *

After Mir, Gwyn, and Mokuba showed up at the park, the teens had walked around, just goofing off. Soon, they had all stopped to get ice cream and were now eating it on the grass by the lake. Because they weren't as familiar with the older teens as Mir, Mokuba and Gwyn mostly talked together. Finally, feeling that they were leaving the younger ones out, Téa turned to Gwyn.

"So how old are you, anyway, Gwyn?"

"Thirteen."

"Oh, that's nice. So is it really true that Mir never had any friends before us?"

Gwyn frowned, slightly unsure what that question meant. "She had _us,_" she mumbled, not meeting the brunette's eyes. Mir coughed; she could tell that Gwyn was uncomfortable talking to people she didn't really know.

"Oh, it's really not that big a deal, who needs friends?"

She just been joking, but that was the wrong thing to say in front of Téa. The brunette's eyes went wide with utter shock and horror. "_Mirati_! How could you say that!?" With that, she—once again—launched into a huge friendship speech, stunning those unfamiliar with these speeches, namely Gwyn. The little blonde looked from Téa to Mir, then back to Téa, then back to Mir again, confusion written all over her childish face. Motioning for her older sister to bend down, she whispered in Mir's ear.

"Why does she talk so funny?"

Mir choked back a laugh as she glanced at the other brunette, who was watching the sisters. "That's 'cause she dyed her hair brown, she's really a blonde."

The younger sister wrinkled her nose, even more confused. "I don't get it?"

Mir just laughed as she ruffled her Gwyn's _blonde_ hair. "Don't worry, you will someday."

Téa just put her hands on her hips, looking slightly annoyed. Joey and Tristan tried to hold back laughter as their friend spoke. "I'm right here, you know."

Mir smiled teasingly at Téa as she stuck out her tongue. "Yes, I'm aware of that." Taa looked angry for a moment, then rolled her eyes good naturedly.

"You're a piece of work, Mir."

* * *

Once they were inside, Seto became all business. He was in his element. Emi wasn't sure why she was there; all she did was stand there while he ran around firing people. Mentally, Emi started to make a note to go through the now-unemployed so that she could tell the person who hired people who to look for.

After he had done all the firing and ordering around, he got down and did most of the work himself. This was when he stared to order Emi around. Go get that, put this over there; it was just monkey work, but Emi held her part of the bargain and didn't complain. She wasn't sure she would have anyway. When Seto Kaiba was on fire, no one dared get in his way.

When the CEO had done everything he could to help the problem, he stood up. "My brother better be home when I get back," he informed her

"Seeing as I'm here, I can't make any promises. Mir isn't tied to you like I am."

He didn't say anything on the drive home, too busy scribbling plans on a notepad. Emi just sat across from him, smiling. After a while, Seto's fury lessened and he began writing at a normal pace. He must have felt Emi's eyes on him because he looked up, meeting her gaze.

"Do you need something?"

Her small smile grew. "No, you just look so… funny."

He eyed her coldly. "I fail to see the humor."

She was trying so hard not to laugh. "It's ok, you don't really have much of a sense of humor…. Do you even have one at all?"

"No."

"Didn't think so."

* * *

Emi sighed as she ran the mop over the white tile floor. She had just been here a few hours ago, only to come back to play janitor.

"So what did you guys do today?"

"We went to the park and hung out with Mir's friends and Mir's friend with the dyed hair was talking about friendship."

"Oh really, did you take notes, Mir?"

The brunette rolled her eyes as she sprayed the large glass windows with Windex. "How come everyone is oh-so-worried about me not having friends when neither of you has any friends?"

Emi smiled. "That's because I DO have friends."

"Oh really? Who?"

"Well, I've become pretty good friends with Crysta, Mrs. Chol, Miss Neyata, Kev —"

"Ok, ok, so you've made friends at KaibaCorp, but what about Gwyn?"

"Mokuba's my friend."

"That doesn't count, 'cause he's my friend too… Plus you met him AFTER I met the gang at school."

"That's because you're at the age when friends are important."

Mir frowned, rolling her eyes. "Well, you never had friends when you were my age." Emi raised an eyebrow as she stopped what she was doing to look at her sister. Mir gave a small sigh. "Ok, true, but I still don't think it's fair."

"We don't really care what you think."

"Thanks, oh wonderful older sister. So, what did the Ice Queen do that needed a klutz like you?"

"Just ran around firing people, then working on some computer thing. I wasn't much help."

"You rarely are."

"Ouch."

* * *

The next morning, Seto was in rare form. He had already fired three more people and it wasn't even noon yet. Everyone was running around like chickens with their heads cut off. People were freaking out at the smallest thing, which ended up with them making _more_ mistakes. Amidst the panic, Mrs. Chol sat calmly at her desk, drinking a cup of hot tea as she did her work. Emi couldn't help laughing at her calm attitude.

"Why is it you're the only one not freaking out, yet you're the one who works closets to Kaiba?"

The young mother-to-be laughed, brushing a strand of her dark brown highlighted hair out of her face. "Well, what's he going to do? Fire me? I'll be leaving soon anyway." She rubbed her swollen stomach lovingly. The image sent slightly painful memories of Emi's own mother when she had been pregnant with Gwyn. Pushing those thoughts aside, Emi laughed lightly along with her co-worker. "Besides," Chol added, "the reason these other people are getting fired is because they are freaking out. Seto is just having a temper tantrum—for whatever reason—and just like any little boy, you simply have to patiently ride it through." She laughed at the idea, then took another sip of her tea.

"So tell me why you aren't worried like the rest."

Emi chuckled shaking her head. "I'm not afraid he'll fire me. In fact, I rather hope he does." Chol laughed along with the younger girl. As if he heard them, Seto came bursting out of his office. He reminded Emi of an enraged dragon—she could almost see fire blowing out of his nostrils. She would have laughed at the thought if Seto weren't so furious already.

"Why aren't you in your office!?" he snapped, blue eyes piercing Emi like arrows. The blonde cleared her throut; she had never seen Seto so angry before, and she had to admit, it was pretty scary.

"Well, you fired the guy who keeps all the files for prices on equipment, so I had to go get them for you, then get his assistant to go find someone who could take his place, since we needed someone to do his job." She was holding up the files that Seto had asked for. The brunet just grabbed the papers from her and slammed his door. Behind it, both woman could hear him yelling at someone on the phone. Sending Chol a weak smile, Emi went back to her small—but rather safe—hole in the wall.

It was two hours later when Seto called her to come into his office. Rubbing the small tension spot on her forehead that was starting to grow from all the paper work, Emi got up and scurried into the office across from hers. Chol smiled at her as Emi passed the secretary's desk.

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

Slowly, Emi opened the door to her boss's office. Peeking in, she saw him brooding at his desk, waiting for her. He reminded her of a cat waiting for its next victim. _Oh joy._ Emi decided to keep the conversation light, if that was possible.

"You had complaints?"

"Yeah, I want to complain about YOU. Why are you suddenly doing EVERYTHING?"

"Just lucky, I guess. Or maybe because you fired everyone."

Seto raised on eyebrow. "Sit."

She did so, even if it made her feel like a dog. This was the first time Emi had gotten to really take a good look at Seto and he looked pretty bad. There were faint dark circles under his eyes and his normally sharp blue eyes were rather dull. It didn't take a genius to tell something was bothering him.

_Emi, it's not your problem! Don't even think about getting involved. Besides, he doesn't want you to ask._

"Are you ok? You don't look good." It couldn't be helped. It was the older sisterness in her; she wanted to be of assistance. Even if the person she was helping was Seto Kaiba.

"I'm fine," he hissed. "It's just that no one can do their job around here."

"They are doing it like normal, it's not like there's a deadline or anything right now. I think something's bothering you."

"What do YOU know?" Seto snapped, making Emi back up slightly in her seat. He was scary, but she wasn't going to give up.

"I… I know that you are upset and when someone's upset it helps to get that anger out," she said, her voice sounding less confident than she had wanted it to sound. Seto let out a growl of frustration, running his fingers threw his thick brown hair.

"So what are you now? My shrink? I'm not one of the employees that you help out!"

"No." Emi took a deep breath. "I'm your friend, if you'll let me be."

"I don't need friends."

"Oh, that's right, you have _Mokuba._"

"Yesss." It came out as a hiss. The young man's blue eyes were on fire now, but Emi had lost her fear. Suddenly, she was seeing what Chol had seen: a confused, angry little child who needed someone to help him. Sitting up straighter, she decided on another plan of action.

"So does Mokuba get all your crap at home or do you just take your bottled up anger out on your employees?"

"So that's what this is about, is it? You're mad because I fired all those people! Well, I'll have you know that this is my company and I shall run it however I like. No one is going to tell me how to run it. Not you, not my brother, and especially NOT that stuck up Trystar or those like him!"

Emi blinked. "Trystar?"

"Oh, don't you start acting all innocent! He's been trying to undermine me for WEEKS! Do you have any idea how stressful it is to keep my company out of his grubby little hands?! Do you have any idea how stressful it is to RUN a _company_?!"

"No, I have no idea."

"Of course you don't. You're just some simple little girl who weasels her way into our lives and tries to get me to do things."

Ok, now he'd lost her. What was she trying to make him do?

"Making me feel guilty for not being with Mokuba or not being human enough—do you have any idea what kind of life I had to go through to be where I am now?! Do you think I ALWAYS want this life? You think that every day I wake up wanting to work with idiots who don't know two plus two, wanting to spend each waking hour keeping stupid rich brats who are trying to take my power away from me at bay? I'll have you know I worked very hard to get where I am so that Mokuba and I could be happy. Just because I'm always working that doesn't mean I NEVER want to be with my brother. He's my brother, and we're family! I live my life the best way I can! SO EVERYONE JUST BUTT OUT!"

He was panting now; he felt like he had just run a marathon. He glanced over at Emiko; the young woman was sitting in the chair across from him. She gazed at him silently, her eyes calm, looking at him without a hint of judgment. For some reason, when he looked into those eyes he felt… felt…

"Feel better?"

Not agreeing to anything, he sat back down, rubbing his forehead. "What did you want again?"

A small smile flickered across her face—she wasn't going to tell him that he had been the one who had wanted her. "I got it, thank you." Rising, she left, leaving a very confused Seto in his wake. He sighed, once again rubbing his throbbing head, then went back to work.

* * *

"Well, I'm heading out, see you later, Chol."

"Bye, Emi."

Emi almost collided with Seto on her way out of KaibaCorp. "Oh, I'm sorry, Se—Are you ok? You don't look good."

Seto glanced at her. He looked even worse than when she had seen him earlier that day.

"I'm fine." Did the floor just tip? Gently, Seto put his hand out toward the wall for balance. Emi's eyes widened at his action. Did he just sway? His eyes looked slightly glassy, too.

"Uh, maybe we should get you to the limo."

"That's where I was headed. Where did you think I was going? To the bus stop?"

"No, I…"

He stumbled slightly; Emi was at this side in an instant. "Seto… S—" That was all he remembered before blacking out.

* * *

**Just to let those of you who were worried….. there are about 15 chapters in this story… that means about 5 more to go. Sequel will be almost RIGHT after and pick up pretty much right after this one. **

**Also do you people like me putting my replys on the chapters or would you like me to reply with PMs? Please tell me cuz I want to know!! I love you guys and want to give you the best thanks I can.**

cheeky half-demon: Seto HAD to win… he always wins, unless it's Yugi but since Emi isn't' anything like Yugi she had to lose… poor girl. Don't worry you have 5 more chapters, plus a sequel (or 2) this story isn't REALLY ending any time soon. Just becoming MORE

P260even: I understand, I'm pretty much the same way :D of course Kaiba won, he wouldn't be Kaiba if he didn't win XD (ahhh we all love the dorky show off don't we –rolls eyes- ) well it wasn't going to be THAT bad!! More like Emi thought he was her mom and wouldn't let him leave and ended up sleeping with her head on his chest. When she work up she beat him. But I felt like it was already very… sickish and anything more would have people going "ok your pushing it" thanks again for the review

Claamchowder: Of course we do!! Awww we're just a cupple of nuts who were somehow let loose on the world. Bakura moments are the best cuz he's just AMAZING!! –heart-

Reiko The Awesome: Awww well thank you so much!! You have no idea how much that means to me!! I'm glad you liked the sick part. I was a little worried but I need to move them forward and I had so many funny ideas it was too good to pass up. I'm not sure he was very nice and gentle… but he was there I'll give him that XD

Emilee-san:  Awww thank you so much!! I work really hard on trying to pull people into my stories I'm so glad i could do it for you!! Lol this those two, something is ALWAYS happening XD lol they are sweeter then candy and much more addicting XD I could live off MirXBakura. REALLY!! You're the first!! God you're the coolest reader EVER!! You really got into my story!! That makes me feel so wonderful!! Awww I feel so loved!! Thank you so much!! You made my day.

Archerygrl1992: AHHH Emi's sickness is spreading!! EVERYONE RUNNNN, you know when i was writing this part I started to get sick, then my beta got sick… and then… someone else gets sick. Creepy

Lightest'Ink: Lol well it went something like this… Emi thought he was her mom (or someone like that) so she goes "uhhhh I don't feel good" and wraps her arms around him fall asleep. Seto tries to pull her off him but he can't and ends up just leaving her there. The next morning when she gets up… well it was pretty interesting, lots of screaming (which didn't help her sickness) and stuff like that

killthesnakesx: lol well maybe I'll put one in later just for you XD or write an extra chapter that has the "deleted scenes" in it XD lol it's coming XD but in a way they are always going to be competing and stuff. It's just their nature.

Unique Art: lol it was hard –wipes away a tear- but I did it. Yeah he is, in his own dorky way. I guess that's why we all love him so much. Lol Heels are evil, but we still love them don't we XD this story will end in about 5 chapters, A Tall Tower will be up… soon after this one is done. (can you guess what it's about?)

Arana Is: really!? Wow, I'm sorry about that I was trying to make it more funny :D they do need to start warming up a little bit. The snuggling scene was more Emi thinking he was her mom or a giant pillow and hugging him and not letting him go cuz of her fever. The part where she wakes up was pretty funny but I was to lazy and wasn't sure if it would fit so I just cut it out. Yeah RyouMir is just AMAZING!! They are blast to write. Haha Mir is the epic win! XD

**Anyway tell me if you guys don't mind me replying to your reviews with pms! It makes posting these a little easier for me.**

**Love you all so much!! **

**-Liz **


	11. In sickness and in heath

**Disclaimer: Yugi isn't mine but after a covert operation with Kit we shall soon own it!! MUAHAHA (don't tell anyone of our plans k) **

**To my reviewers: **

**cheeky half-demon**

**P260even**

**Reiko The Awesome**

**Emilee-san.**

**Yamiluvr22**

**Claamchowder**

**Pinfeathers**

**killthesnakesx**

**Archerygrl1992**

**Lightest'Ink**

**DarkestInk**

**Unique Art**

**Ari Saki**

**PB-Queen-101**

**Well after a very INTERESTING weekend of dropping my brother off at collage, me falling on my knee. I broke my laptop (along with many other things) so updates might be a BIT harder to post but I'm going to try my best. **

**Also until my computer comes back no sketches for the chapters (everyone: YAY!!) **

**_"Indeed I should be ungrateful if I did not care for such a kind Beat," cried Beauty indignantly. "I would die to save him from pain. I assure you it is not his fault that he is so ugly."  
Beauty and the Beast_**

* * *

Seto wasn't sure what was real and what was a dream. The first thing he remembered was his mother, her face so full of love as she looked down at her eldest son. Calling out, he tried to see if it was really her. She seemed so real to him. When he touched her, he could feel her warm skin under his cold fingers; he could hear her voice. She was calling to him, asking him if he was ok. It all seemed so real, and for a while, he was sure his mother was really there. But then he reminded himself that his mother was dead, had been dead for a long time. It was just a dream. That was when it changed; his mother disappeared and he started to dream feverishly.

He dreamed about the first time he had dueled Yugi. The first time he had lost, ever. Halfway through the duel, he noticed Emi standing on the side, watching him with those crystal blue eyes. It was as if she were taunting him. Something she had said a while back made him want to prove her wrong. What had she said again?

"_I guess they don't call you the _former_ King of Games for nothing."_

Oh yeah.

The scene changed to Mokuba sitting on his bed, talking to him about… he couldn't remember. The younger Kaiba seemed really worried. Seto tried to tell his brother he was fine, but he couldn't find the words. Worried that it was still a dream, he reached out to touch his brother's cheek.

He saw Emi and the way she had looked at him when he had yelled at her, her eyes boring into him like all-seeing holes. Her sisters seemed to be in the distance. Mir was tossing a ball to Gwyn and both girls were laughing. There were so many different images: some memories, some dreams, and some must have been reality. He wasn't sure. It was all spinning around him so fast.

Then suddenly, all he saw was darkness.

Slowly, Seto opened his eyes and coughed slightly. Blinking a few times, he looked around. That was when he saw Emi sitting on a chair next to his bed, writing something down in a binder. Her crystal blue eyes left the book and met his.

"You with me this time or do you still have a fever?" she asked, leaning forward, putting her cool hand on his forehead. If Seto hadn't been so sour and tired, he would have protested her touching him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Welcome back."

He frowned slightly and tried to move only to find that his body felt like a dead weight.

"You know," Emi continued, "you are kind of cute when you're sick; you remind me a lot of your brother."

Seto would have growled if his throat hadn't hurt so much.

"I asked you a question."

A small smile was playing on Emi's lips. She had been doing that a lot lately—fighting back the urge to laugh at him. It drove him crazy. "Oh, well, you got really sick, so I got you home and the maids helped me put you to bed. I guess it's partly my fault that you got sick, since I was sick first, so I thought I better help you out."

Seto groaned, trying to make his body sit up. "I can't believe this, I have work to do."

Emi chuckled slightly, but stopped when he glared at her. "Don't worry about it, Cartter took care of your precious company. I suggest a raise for him."

"This is all your fault."

"I already said that. But you know, you shouldn't have worked so hard if you were so sick."

Seto didn't say anything, just—very slowly—turned so that his back was facing her. Behind him, he heard Emi laugh slightly. She infuriated him.

"Awww, is the great Seto Kaiba pouting?"

* * *

"Idiot, someone is here to see you."

Mir looked up from her book to see Fedha in the doorway. Her stepsister stood there looking annoyed, her hands on her hips with her perfect eyebrows arched in such a way that said, "_I can't believe I'm doing something for you._" Mir rolled her eyes at the older girl.

"What's the matter with you? Your boyfriend finally find out what a selfish brat you were and dump you?"

Fedha rolled her gray-blue eyes as if some stupid child had just spoken. "He's lucky to have me, he would never think about doing that. Some brat from your school wants to talk to you. Idiot. Now hurry up and get down there."

"Ok." Mir was slightly curious: Since Fedha had come up to get her, her visitor was obviously female, but she knew that Téa was at dance classes and Joey and his sister had been out of town. So who wanted to see her?

When she reached the front door, Mir saw Satra standing in the doorway smiling a wide—very unlike her—smile.

"Hey, want to hang out?"

"Uh, sure."

Behind her, Mir heard Fedha snort. Choosing to ignore her, Mir walked out—grabbing her shoes on the way—with Satra. Once they were away, Mir turned to her classmate.

"So where are we going?"

Satra shrugged. "Out. I wanted to hang out with a female."

Mir raised an eyebrow, unsure of how to reply to that comment. Satra laughed, glanced at her. "I have five brothers, ok, and my best friend is away."

"So I'm your fallback plan?"

"No! Sorry, that came out wrong… My mom told me to 'get some new friends,' so I bumped into Bakura on my way out and we were talking about you."

. Anyway, he was telling me about how he had invited you to that festival and how your sister said you didn't have any friends. So I said to myself, 'Self, you don't really have any friends right now and neither does Mir, go get to know her.' So here I am." At this last remark, she flung out her arms as if she had expected applause.

Mir looked at Satra as if she was crazy. Then the strawberry blonde-haired girl burst out laughing. "Sorry, I'm crazy, you'll get used to it."

Mir couldn't help smiling at her classmate's hyper attitude. Satra was so different outside of class. The brunette snickered to herself. _I _guess_ you can't judge a book by its cover._

After taking a walk around town, they had ended up at Satra's house. Mir took in the white house: With a neatly-trimmed lawn and bushes, it looked very peaceful.

"Nice house."

Satra glanced over at Mir for a moment, then back at the house, shrugging. "It's pretty normal. In fact, it looks like every other house on this block."

Mir shrugged. "I noticed. But then again, you saw my house."

"Meh, I thought your house was pretty cool looking."

Somehow, Mir wasn't surprised. They walked up the short walkway and were almost to the door when Satra stopped her, holding out her hand. "Hang on; I almost forgot to check for traps."

Mir raised on eyebrow, unsure of what to say to that. "Traps?"

Satra nodded her head, looking very solemn as she reached for the doorknob. With a quick twist, she yanked the door open, catching the bucket of water that came crashing down. After tossing the bucket into the lawn, she inched into the house. After ducking three missiles of varying sizes and shapes, jumping over a few string traps, and dodging a wagon that came rolling down the stairs, the light-red-haired girl turned to the awestruck teenager.

"Like I said, I have _lots_ of brothers."

As if on cue, two boys came running out of seemingly nowhere. "Awww, that's not fair! You didn't get hit by ANY of the traps!" the shorter one yelled, pouting slightly. Satra rolled her eyes, patting the little boy on the head.

"Next time, ask one of the older boys to help you, and stop teaching your friends how to make traps. I don't think their moms like it. Now clean this stuff up."

The younger boy shrugged, then nodded to his friend, and they started to clean up. Satra just laughed, then motioned for her classmate to come in.

"We can go to my room where it's safe."

* * *

"Gwyn, it's time to go." The little girl looked up from the game she was playing with Mokuba; Emi couldn't help smiling at their cuteness. She could almost hear Mir's voice: _Emi's acting all motherly again!_ "Your brother's awake, Mokuba, I think he wants to hang out with you."

The black-haired boy jumped up, excitement written all over his face. "Ok!"

Gwyn giggled as she picked up the cards. "See you later, Mokuba."

"Ok, see you, Gwyn, bye, Emi!" With that, he bolted toward his beloved brother's room.

"Ready to go home, Gwyn?"

'Yep, I hope Mir isn't in too much trouble."

Emi laughed. They had almost been out the door when Mir had gotten into a small fight with Fedha. This had ended her up back in her room, unable to go anywhere. Gwyn hadn't wanted to leave her older sister, but Mir had commanded that the younger girl go. Emi smiled down at her younger sister.

"Mir's a big girl, I'm sure she's fine."

"I'm glad Mokuba's brother is feeling better."

Memories of the past few days days of Setos sickness came floating back. He had collapsed at work on his way out. Emi had gotten a few co-workers to help her get him into his limo and home. Once the maids had helped him dress and put him into bed, Emi had gone in to see if he was ok. He hadn't recognized her at all—in fact, he had repeatedly called her his mom. He kept muttering things about work, Mokuba, etc. He had been so sick; she couldn't leave him. With a quick call home, she had told her stepmother she would be back late. Mir and Gwyn had come to the Kaiba mansion half an hour later. After getting the lowdown on what had happened, Mir had just laughed and told Emi she didn't need to stay. Emi had shrugged and they three girls had stayed until later that night. After a while Mir turned to her sister

"_He's got doctors and maids who can help him better than you."_

"_But he thinks I'm his mom."_

_Mir's sarcastic smile melted from her face. "Oh…" She paused and looked over at Gwyn, who was now sleeping on the couch next to Mokuba—who had refused to leave his brother. "Well, I'll tell dear old step-mom you're pulling an all-nighter… just… come home soon, k?"_

"_Thanks, Mir." _

"Mokuba was teaching me Duel Monsters today." Gwyn's voice broke Emi out of her memories. The older blonde smiled.

"Oh, really? Well, Mir will be happy to hear that."

Gwyn shrugged. "Yeah, but I'm not very good."

"Practice makes perfect."

* * *

Mir came home rather late; Satra 's mother had insisted on feeding her dinner, and then Satra's brothers had challenged them to Wii games. The strawberry blonde hadn't been joking about her brothers. The house seemed swarming with boys. Of course, Satra had informed Mir some of the males were cousins and friends—who, she added, were just as bad, since they pretty much lived there, too.

"You'll have to come over more. It's nice to have another female around, my life is overrun by males!" she had dramatically informed Mir as the brunette left. Mir laughed and promised to come back sometime soon. She had to admit, that evening was unlike anything she had ever done before. Mir was used to hanging around girls, since she was always around her sisters. But even her times with Bakura and his friends were NOTHING like Satra's house. They were all insane, joking, teasing, and throwing things. Mir hadn't been able to stop laughing the whole time. She wasn't sure what was funnier, the way all the guys acted with each other or the fact that Satra fit right in with them. When the small girl had started to wrestle one guy twice her size for a controller, Mir could hardly breathe, she was laughing so hard.

It was quiet at her house; everyone must be sleeping already. Tiptoeing up to her room, she was welcomed by her two sisters sitting on Emi's bed. Both blonde girls looked up when Mir walked into the room. Mir couldn't help smiling; Gwyn was snuggled up against Emi, who had her arm around the smaller girl as she read her "Snow White" from Gwyn's fairy tale book.

"Hey, Mir, did you have fun?"

"Did you make lots of new friends?"

"Yes and no, Satra was already my friend."

"Then how come we never heard of her before? Fedha said she was kind of pretty, so that means she must have been gorgeous for Fedha to admit that ANYONE but herself is pretty." Emi sniffed. Mir laughed, jumping onto Emi's double bed.

"We weren't that close, and yeah, she's really pretty, but she's also crazy."

"Sounds like fun."

Mir laughed again, jumping back off the bed and getting out her PJs. "It was, be right back." With that, she left to get changed and brush her teeth. When she returned, she couldn't help but notice how quiet it was in her room. Slowly, she walked in.

"Guys?"

"GET HER!!"

Both Emi and Gwyn pounced on their sister and started to whack her with pillows. Letting out a shriek, Mir dove for a pillow from her collection of many. Whirling around, she started to fight back. After a long battle, the three sisters lay on Emi's bed, panting from exhaustion. After a few moments of silence, Emi finally spoke.

"Haven't done that in a while, that was fun."

Both her sisters agreed.

* * *

Seto woke up the next morning feeling much better. Mokuba was just coming in to say good morning; the black-haired boy was holding a plate of breakfast, a huge smile on his face.

"Morning, brother."

Seto grunted as he sat up. "Mokuba, was Emiko here the whole time I was sick?"

Mokuba nodded, his smile getting wider. "Well, most of the time, she was really worried about you. Gwyn said it was because you kept calling her mom. Mir said it was something like Emi always feels like she has to mother everyone."

Seto sighed, sinking deeper into his pillow. Why? Why had she stayed? She could have had a week free from him; this was even the week she had to do everything he said. She had to be the most confusing woman Seto had ever met. Of course, he had never really gotten so close to any other woman before, but… he was pretty sure she was just a strange one.

"Yeah," Mokuba was saying. "She was really worried about you, she hardly slept the whole time you were sick. I think you should get her something as a thank you."

"Hmph. Why? I didn't ask her to help me."

"But she did."

Seto sighed. "I'm tired, leave me alone." Mokuba shrugged and took his older brother's now-empty plate out with him. Seto watched him go, the younger boy's words still playing in his mind.

_You should get her something._

_She hardly slept. _

_You should get her something._

_Thank you._

Grumbling to himself, Seto pulled up his covers as he lay back down. There was no way he was going to buy that girl something.

* * *

"Mrs. Chol."

"Yes?"

"Please get Emiko something small as a thank you gift."

There was silence for a moment, and when his secretary spoke again, there was a very obvious undertone of laughter in her voice. "Right away, Sir, anything in particular?" Seto tried to think of something that Emi had mentioned she liked. After a moment, he spoke again.

"No, just something small."

"All right."

* * *

"Morning—or should I say _afternoon—_Chol." The young mother-to-be looked up and smiled at Emi; there was something in her face that morning that unnerved the younger woman. Chol looked like a teenager who'd just found some silly secret.

"Hello, Emi."

"Did something happen today?"

"Kaiba is back."

"Oh, that's good…" What did that have to do with her? Chol just laughed, returning to her filing.

"Yes, and he's in a much better mood… much better."

"Oh, well… that's… good?" Completely confused, Emi left Chol to her morning oddities. Opening the door to her small office, she put her bag and jacket next to her desk, then sat down. That was when she saw the small package wrapped in green paper. She tore off the wrapping, then opened the small box to find a thin, elegant silver bracelet inside. Frowning slightly, the blonde opened the card that was with it.

_Thank you. _

_-Seto Kaiba_

Emi couldn't help but roll her eyes as she stood up, taking her gift with her. The letter was typed and obviously not even from her boss. Sure, the gift was beautiful, and probably very expensive as well as fashionable. But she wasn't about to take it.

* * *

When there was a knock on Seto's door, the brunet looked up, puzzled. Who could that be? No one just knocked on his door without Mrs. Chol informing him first.

"Come in." Emi stuck her head in the office. _Unless it's her. What does she want now? _"Yes?"

"I came to thank you for the gift."

Seto just shrugged nonchalantly, then went back to his work, hoping she would take the hint and leave. Sadly, her footsteps got closer. Suddenly, there was a small white box on top of the papers he was reading.

"Thanks, but no thanks."

Seto froze and gazed up at her, shocked "What?"

Emi smiled slightly, but her crystal blue eyes looked completely serious."I don't really like getting gifts, and since you obviously didn't pick it out yourself, I don't want it. Besides, I helped you 'cause I wanted to, not 'cause I wanted something in return."

Seto rolled his eyes and pushed the box toward her. "Whatever, just take it."

"No thank you, you keep it."

"What am I going to do with it?"

Emi shrugged. "Give it to your girlfriend."

Seto frowned. "You of all people know that I don't like relationships."

Emi's eyes grew slightly wider."I…I didn't know that. I just thought you… just… weren't a people person."

"I'm not."

"Oh… But that's different from not liking relationships."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

No it—why are we talking about this."

Emi shrugged. "I don't know, but if you ever meet that girl, just give it to her, 'cause I don't want it." With that, she turned and left. Seto snorted in disgust. What was that about? Like he would ever get into a relationship with someone; he was too busy for those kinds of things. He just wasn't the sort of person who got close to others. Muttering to himself about the endless stupidity of that annoying girl, he put the small white box in his top drawer and went back to work.

* * *

**So like I said I'm going to TRY to work and post these chapters at a decent rate but I'm not promising anything. But I'm going to try my very best. I want to keep my beloved reviewers happy :D plus I know how annoying it is when a story isn't being posted that much. (Is a rather impatient person so she understands)**

**I love all my reviewers!! (Can't say it enough) thank you all for your reviews –hugs you all to death- **

**More coming soon!! (I hope) **

**-Element-girls **


	12. All I want

**Disclaimer: our last attempts didn't work so well butttt with this new plan –holds up papers with messy drawings and stuff on them- we shall not fail!! **

**Oh**

**My**

**GAARA!! **

**I got 100 reviews!! -faint- I'm in total and utter SHOCK!! thank you guys sooooooo much!! you are all AMAZING!! AMAZING I TELLL YOU!! this story would NEVER be where it was if it wasn't for all of you!! **

**Thank you guys soooo much!!**

Desert.Moon (my 100th reviwer!!)

Ari Saki (my 99th!!) 

Lightest'Ink

DarkestInk

PB-Queen-101

Annonomus

P260even

Claamchowder

Emilee-san

killthesnakesx

Reiko The Awesome

cheeky half-demon

**Well my box still hasn't come ; let's hope it shows up soon…**

"_**But I long to see my father again. Only let me go for two months, and I promise to come back to you and stay for the rest of my life." The Beast, who had been sighing dolefully while she spoke, now replied: "I cannot refuse you anything you ask,"**_

_**Beauty and the Beast**_

* * *

The small project had been put in the back room for a while. Not because it wasn't a good idea, but because of all its problems. The virtual word was just too unstable. In the wrong hands, it could be turned from a phenomenon to a horror.

So there it sat, with blinking screens and glowing lights, forgotten. Seto had gone onto bigger and better things. Using other means to make great inventions. He never wanted to experience another horror like the one he had before.

Because there was only one thing in this world that Seto Kaiba feared. Only one thing that the Gaming King of the world was afraid of.

Losing the one he held closest: Mokuba.

He would never again subject his brother to anything that wasn't one hundred percent safe. It wasn't because he was worried about his brother's safety. Not that that wasn't important to him, but it was more that Seto didn't think he could ever live with himself if he lost the last person in his life.

And nothing scared him more.

So the computers stayed out of the way. Like a plague that no one knew what to do with besides quarantine. But the problem with putting that much terror in one room is that there is a danger of someone letting it out. And after sitting around for so long, plotting, growing, brooding, it will become stronger. It is patient; it has already waited so long it doesn't matter if it has to linger a few more weeks before its revenge.

Thus, the outcast project sat, waiting to be used.

--

After a long day at school, the two younger Hidenka girls were coming into KaibaCorp to meet their older sister for their cleaning duties. After saying hello—well, Mir said hello; Gwyn just nodded shyly—to Mrs. Chol, they barged into Seto Kaiba's office where Emi was giving the billion-dollar CEO her paperwork for the day.

"Hey, Seto! Whatcha doing? Giving our sister yet another task to do? When does this contract end, anyway?

Seto couldn't help but snicker at the brunette's comment. "What contract?"

"You know, the one that says how long she has to work for you."

"There WAS no contract. Not really anyway. Thus, no specified amount of time."

Gwyn's purple eyes grew wide as she gasped in shock, turning to her oldest sister. "Emi! You mean you have to work for him FOREVER?!"

Mir laughed, running her hands through her brown hair. "You guys might as well just get married now and be done with it."

Emi rolled her eyes, trying not to laugh. "Ok, girls, time to get out the mops and start working."

"Ok, see ya, brother-in-law-to-be"

"Now, Mir."

Once they were gone, Seto grumbled something about stupid females then went back to work. He could hear the sisters' laughter as they walked down the hall, getting ready for their late night of cleaning. How could they be happy all the time? Did nothing bother them?

* * *

The evening started out pretty smoothly; nothing too much happened other than the girls telling about their days. Gwyn, like always, didn't have much to say, while Mir seemed to have more and more to tell about her classes everyday. "I mean, my math teacher is just EVIL! It's like he WANTS us to fail or something! I swear, that guy's whole purpose in life is to make high schoolers cry."

At this, Gwyn wrinkled her nose. "Everyone has a reason in life. Maybe teaching just wasn't his reason."

Emi laughed. "That was a very nice thing to say, Gwyn."

Mir snickered. Nudging Emi, she gave her older sister a mischievous smile. "Well, if that's true, then what's Seto's reason?"

Emi snickered. "He suffers so we can laugh."

"And you're here so I can make your life miserable." Seto had just been leaving for the day when he had heard Mir's remark. Unable to resist getting yet another edge on Emi, he'd silently walked up behind her. When he had spoken, Emi had screamed, clutching her heart as she spun around. Just the reaction he had hoped for.

"Why are you always there at the worst times?"

"It's a gift. By the way, did you girls know I have all your cleanings on tape from the security cameras?"

Emi rolled her eyes as she put her mop back in its bucket, sloshing it around in the murky water. "Oh joy."

Mir snickered. "Isn't that called stalking? Just admit you love Emi and marry her so I—er, I mean, _**she**_ can be rich." She paused for a moment to think, then spoke again. "Or maybe you're trying to blackmail us… The great Seto Kaiba is lowering himself to BLACKMAIL? Wow, I'm honored!"

Seto stood in silence, just watching Mir act, in his opinion, like a fool. "I'm not even going to ask what all that meant."

Emi sighed, shaking her head as she tried hard not to laugh. "Good idea. See you tomorrow, Seto."

"Please try not to break anything in my building."

"Don't worry, we'll _**try**_ not to."

"Mir…"

* * *

It was such a beautiful day that Mir just HAD to eat her lunch outside. It would be a crime not to. She only wished she had her sisters to eat it with.

"May I join you?"

Of course, hanging out with Ryou would be fine, too. Not that she had a crush on him or anything, she just enjoyed his company. She was NOT in love with him. That's right, Emi, she was NOT.

"Sure."

Mir smiled up at the white-haired boy who stood over her as she scooted a bit so that he could sit next to her under the tree. Ryou sat down, flashing her one of his infamous smiles. Mir was always so impressed he could smile with such… joy. It was as if his whole body lit up with one smile. That was probably why Gwyn felt so comfortable around him; it was hard to feel anything but at-ease around the calm, easygoing boy.

"So…. What do you have for lunch?" Mir asked, leaning over to see.

"Not much." He held up a massive box filled with food; Mir's amethyst eyes grew wide at the amount.

"Holiness!! Are you going to eat ALL of that?"

He flashed her yet another one of his smiles. "Yep, you want some?"

"Uh, no thanks, I have enough of my own."

They ate in silence for a while, just enjoying each other's company and the wonderful day. It was so nice out, and since both teens had been loners for so long, sharing this splendor in the company of another loner was quite pleasant. Once Bakura had finished his lunch and Mir was almost done—yes, he had finished before her—Mir spoke. She was still slightly shocked that the thin, white-haired boy could scarf—a word she had learned from him—down so much food.

"Man, you really love food, don't you?"

Bakura gave a small laugh and shrugged. "Yes, I suppose."

"So then, what's your favorite food?"

He stopped for a moment, thinking it over. "I'd have to say cream puffs."

Mir blinked, then—much too Bakura's confusion—she burst out laughing. Somehow, she wasn't surprised at all.

"Oh gosh! You're amazing, Ryou!"

"Er, thank you…."

* * *

"I'm home."

"DAD!!"

Gayle Hidenka laughed as his three birth-daughters ran to him. Behind them were his wife and step-daughter. Manon had an expression of love and joy on her face as she embraced her husband after his daughters had let him go; Fedha was content with just giving him a hello.

"We missed you so much," Manon cooed, her eyes on his bags rather than her husband. Gayle laughed, bending down to pick up one of the large suitcases.

"I'm sure you did. Now, time for gifts."

"Did you sell Gwyn to Mr. Trystar this time?" Mir asked jokingly as she leaned forward, looking over the shoulder of Fedha, who had stepped in when she heard the word "gifts." The older girl sniffed and moved away from her step-sister as if the younger girl had the plague.

Gayle laughed, embarrassed. "No, but I did get my little slave a bracelet." He held up a small white box. Emi rolled her eyes, already planning on giving it to Gwyn. Then she opened it.

It was a exact replica of the one Seto had tried to give her. Her voice caught in her throat.

"D…Dad."

"Do you like it?"

Mir and Gwyn watched their sister just stare at the small silver bracelet. Her expression was unreadable. Nervous that he had—once again—gotten her something she didn't like, Gayle spoke quickly. "The woman at the vender said they are all the rage now, she said girls your age really like them. And I had to get you something, Emi."

Weakly, Emi looked up at her father. "I… It's great, Dad, I love it." The very idea of how much it cost made her sick.

Gayle smiled, pleased with himself. "Wonderful. Now, let's see…"

"What did you get me?" Fedha asked, eyeing the bracelet; she could steal it later, since Emi obviously didn't really like it.

* * *

"Hey, Emi."

"Yeah?"

"Do you like the gift Dad gave you?"

Emi was silent for a moment, then she sat up in her bed. Mir was lying across the room on her own bed—surrounded by pillows, as usual—her purple eyes blinking back at her sister.

"It's ok, I guess, it's just… Seto gave me the exact same one today."

Mir sat up in shock. "What?!"

Emi nodded. "Yeah, it's kind of creepy."

The brunette shook her head, waving her hands in the air. "No, no, wait, Seto got you something!? WHY?! Is he trying to court you?! Are we going to be rich?!"

"No, it was a thank you for helping him while he was sick."

There was silence for a moment, then Mir spoke again. "How long do you think it will take Dad to go on another trip?"

"Where did that come from?"

Mir sighed. "You know what I mean. It's getting close to Mommy's death and…" Her voice trailed off. Emi got out of her bed and walked over to where her younger sister was laying. Sitting down, she pulled her knees up to her chest.

"And what, Mir?"

Mir gave a small sigh, then sat up. "It's just…" She paused again, trying to find the right words. "I wish Dad would be home more. Or at least try to look like he cares about us. It's so hard with him always gone. I hate living here with Setp-mom and Fedha. Well, it's better than living with Uncle, but still… I just wish…"

Emi smiled, nodding, understanding her sister's unspoken words.

"Well, since I've been working with Seto, I've been making a lot of money. Maybe we can move out soon." Mir's eyes went wide with shock.

"Really?!"

"Do you want that?"

The brunette bit her lip, thinking it over. Would that mean they would have to move away from Domino? As much as she hated to admit it, she was starting to get attached to her classmates. "Is this really about me? You'd move out for me?"

Emi chuckled. "I'd do anything for you and Gwyn, I don't mind supporting you both… but maybe you don't want to leave this town?"

Mir nodded. "I don't really know what I want. Funny, huh? Normally, I always seem to be sure."

Emi laughed slightly, brushing away a few strands of hair that had fallen into Mir's face.

"It's ok, Mir, you've been so happy lately. I can't even express how happy that makes _me_."

Mir chuckled, trying to fight back the tears that were threatening to come. "Emi you're always thinking about us, when are you going to do something for yourself?"

Emi laughed, her eyes sparkling as she hugged her younger sister. "I _am_ doing this for myself. Making you and Gwyn happy is the only thing I want in this world."

"Even if that means having to fight Manon into letting us leave, even if that means breaking Dad's heart by moving out? Even if that means working for Seto Kaiba forever?"

"Yep, even that. Mir, we've been through far worse than a little scuffle with the Steps and Dad. As for Seto, he's not so hard to deal with."

Mir cackled, pulling away from her sister, that mischievous glint in her amethyst eyes. "Ohhh, starting to warm up to him are we?"

Rolling her eyes, Emi whacked Mir on the head. "Get to sleep, you, you have school tomorrow."

"Night, Mrs. Kaiba."

This earned Mir a smack with one of her many pillows. The brunette was still laughing as Emi returned to her own bed. The blonde couldn't help smiling; Mir's laughter used to be so rare, but lately she seemed so happy. Emi would do anything to keep it that way. No matter what, she would never go back to the way they used to be.

* * *

It was another one of those dreams. about her family playing out in a field. This time, the grass looked a little browner and there were hardly any flowers. She was looking at them as if in the distance. Her mother and father sat on a blanket, while Mir and Gwyn chased each other around, laughing. Smiling lovingly, Emi walked toward their family. Her mother looked up at her, her clear blue eyes shining just the way Emi remembered. The young mother smiled, reaching out for her eldest daughter. But as Emi got closer, the woman slowly started to fade. In her panic, Emi started running, only to find that both her mother and father were gone. She tripped; the feeling of slowly falling spun around her. Suddenly, someone caught her. It was the boy from before. He looked at her with sharp eyes.

"_When one door is closed, one opens," _he whispered. Emi blinked, unsure of what he meant. Behind him, Mir and Gwyn were talking quietly. They were talking about something that Emi couldn't make out. Both looked at her, then covered their mouths trying to stifle giggles.

"GOOD MORNING, SISSY!"

Emi gasped, sitting up in shock. Gwyn was standing next to her bed, smiling at her. The small blonde was already dressed; behind her, Mir stood laughing slightly. Emi frowned as she got out of bed.

"Why aren't you guys in you school uniforms?"

"I'm gonna stay home from school today, Sis, I don't feel good."

"You look fine."

"What?! No I don't, I look terrible! Don't I look terrible, Gwyn?"

"Yeah, Sissy, she looks terrible."

"See?! And I FEEL terrible, too! I'm gonna die!" At this, Mir put her hand on her forehead and gave a dramatic sigh. Gwyn giggled, her purple eyes lighting up with laughter. Emi shook her head as she pulled on her own outfit.

"You just want Bakura to bring you your homework again, don't you?"

"What?! No! I'm really SICK!"

"_Love_sick, maybe."

"I—"

"Fine, stay home, but I don't want anything to… HAPPEN when he comes over."

"Oh _PLEASE_."

Gwyn laughed, dancing around Emi. "You have to stay home, too, so we can go out to the festival! Dad already said he would take us."

Mir wrinkled her nose. "Along with Mom and Fedha… the party poopers. Fedha doesn't even want to go."

"I'm not sure I can…"

"Oh, just do it, _**DAD'S**_ taking us out. You may never get another chance like this ever again."

Emi laughed at this remark, shaking her head. "Fine, fine."

Both girls squealed, jumping up and down. Victory!

* * *

"I hear these festivals are a very good place to find rare things, don't you think, honey?" Manon asked her husband, clinging to his arm as if she were a teenage on a date with her boyfriend. Mir rolled her eyes at Emi, who chuckled, shaking her head.

"Oh, look, it's Bakura!" Gwyn cried, waving. Emi snickered, nudging Mir.

"See, I told you we'd find him… or he'd find you."

"Who's Bakura?" Gayle asked, turning to see who his youngest daughter was waving to. Manon raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, who _**is**_ he?"

Emi just smiled as the white-haired boy came walking up. "He's a classmate of Mir's." Behind her, Emi could hear Fedha's coy whisper.

"He's cute."

_She would think a lamppost was cute, as long as it was male. Of course, she's right about Ryou; he _is_ really cute. _

Ryou had caught up to them, flashing one of his heart-filled smiles, panting slightly.

"Hello, Mirati, Gwyneira, Emiko, is this the rest of your family?"

Mir shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah, Ryou, this is my dad, _step_-mom, and _step_-sister," she said, emphasizing disgust on the _step_ part. Ryou just blinked in surprise, then kept on smiling. Fedha pushed past her sisters, gushing.

"Ohhh, Ryou, huh, what a cute name. I'm this idiot's older sister. So, you go to the same school, huh…. That's so cute."

Bakura looked taken aback by the older girl's forwardness. "Er, well…" Mir coughed, interrupting him.

"Yeah, well, it was nice to see you, Ryou, talk to you at school." The still–confused, white-haired boy nodded as Mir started to herd her family away from her classmate. Once they were gone, Fedha snickered.

"Oh, I get it, the idiot is in love and doesn't want to share. I doubt a cute boy like that would think twice about you like _that_. I'm surprised he even came over…"

"Fedha, please," Manon rebuked her daughter. "Can't you be civilized for ONCE in your life?"

Fedha frowned, then rolled her eyes. "I'm going to get a rice cake."

Gayle nodded. "Ok, meet us at the ferris wheel in an hour."

"Sure."

After she had left, Gayle looked like he was going to ask Mir something, but Manon pulled him away. "Ohhh, Gayle! Let's look at some venders, you've really been gone too long," she sobbed. The older man sent his daughters an apologetic smile as he was pulled away from his wife. Emi smiled, waving.

"Don't worry, Dad, we'll talk later."

Alone with each other, the three Hidenka sisters started to walk around the fair.

"Ok, if you had school today, why was Ryou at the fair?"

"That's 'cause we didn't have school today."

Emi paused, turning to her sister. "Huh? But you said you were sick and not going to school."

Mir shrugged, grinning. "I lied. Anyway, speaking of being sick, I never got to ask what story Kaiba read you when _you_ were sick."

Emi laughed as she looked through a jewelry vender, picking out a pretty blue necklace and holding it up for Gwyn to try. "Beauty and the Beast."

"Oh, I love that one," Gwyn cooed as she tried on the necklace, looking at herself in the mirror. Mir laughed as she slipped on a huge emerald ring, holding up her hand to admire it.

"What, he didn't read you his life story?" She started to mimic Seto's voice. "_Once upon a time there was a businessman who didn't know what he was doing..._"

"Or going to do with an annoying young woman and her equally annoying sisters."

"AHHHH!"

"Why, hello, Seto, have you graduated from scaring me to scaring my sister?"

"I didn't know I scared you. Why weren't you at work today?"

"Awww, you missed me?"

"No."

"We're here to see the gaming booth,"Mokuba told the sisters, smiling.

"Ahhh, I do believe my father was heading that way."

"Nice to know. Come on, Mokuba."

"Coming, Bro. Bye!"

* * *

They didn't get home until late; Emi was carrying the now-sleeping Gwyn on her back while an exhausted Mir followed her sluggishly. Fedha was already halfway up to her room with her mother right behind her.

"Emi, can I talk to you?"

The blonde turned to her father. "Sure, Dad, just let me put Gwyn in bed."

Mir coughed, then held her arms out for her younger sister. "I'll take her, you talk to Dad."

"Thanks, Mir."

Once the brunette and sleeping blonde were gone, Emi turned to her father. "Yes?"

Her father sighed, then sat down on one of the couches, patting the seat next to him. After Emi joined him, he spoke.

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

"What?! But you just got back!"

Her father looked away, a guilty expression on his face. "I know, it's just… there is this rare product being sold in England, and I need to get over there to get my share."

Emi nodded, gazing down at her hands. "I understand."

Her dad sighed, taking her head in his hands, forcing her to look at him. "I'm worried about you, Emi. Is everything ok with Kaiba? I feel so badly about that."

Emi nodded, smiling at the memories of the past few weeks. "Everything is fine with that, and really, Dad, don't beat yourself up about it… but there is one problem…" Her voice trailed off as she looked away. The words sounded so clear in her mind, but she just couldn't seem to speak them out loud. Again, Gayle forced his daughter to meet his eyes.

"What is it, Emi? What's the matter?"

"It's Mir and Gwyn, Dad. You said once you married Manon you'd be home more! They need you, Dad, they're growing girls! You're like a stranger to Gwyn and Mir… I…" She bit her lip, trying to think of the right words. "Mir is bitter…. She… she really misses you, Dad, more than she lets on."

Gayle sighed, running his hand through his thick brown hair. "I… I'm sorry, it's just so hard for me. I… I keep thinking of her." He didn't need to say who _her_ was; Emi knew.

_Mommy._

"But DAD! This isn't only about you! You have a new wife! I know you only married her because of what was going on, but! What about US, Dad?! Do you think Mommy would be happy if she knew that you were never with her daughters?!" Her father winced at this. Emi calmed down quickly; she hadn't wanted to hurt her father, she had just wanted him to see what he was doing to this family.

"We love you, Dad, and I know it's hard. We miss her, too. But we can help you get over that pain…. If you let us."

Gayle looked up at his daughter, tears in his eyes. "You are so much like her, Emi," he whispered hoarsely as he pulled his daughter into a strong embrace. "I swearr, after this trip I'll come back and get everything squared away. I swear."

Emi hugged him back, tears in her own eyes. "Thank you, Dad."

* * *

**Almost done… 3 more chapters :D **

**element-girls./art/Gwyn-chapter-12-96545244**

**Gwyn is so adorable cute sometimes! I really love writing about her. I also adore drawing her hair. Unlike Emi and Mir (who's hair I had already basically picked out even before I had made them) I drew a few different styles before I chose this one.**

**Fans: Unique Art and Arana Is**

**Remember keep voting on who you like **

**-Liz (Element-girls) **


	13. Be careful what you wish for

**Disclaimer: I do now own Yugioh :D but Seto owns my heart does that count? – brutally shot- **

**No picture this time… My laptop was shipped off to the people at Dell. I shall miss little Cindy (my laptop) but Carl (my hamper muse) told me she wasn't tough enough for me… oh well let's hope she get's some good patching up and is ready when we go to California for school. **

**I've also decide to go back to thanking my reviewers here cuz it just seems nicer to me… (hey isn't a girl allowed to change her mind?) anyway here's the next chapter… it's VERY sad and just so you know sadness isn't my strongest point (then again writing in general isn't my strong point) so I hope it's ok **

_**"What would that matter to you?" said the prince. "Surely you would not care."** _

**_-Beauty and the Beast_**

* * *

Everyone had been really upset when they heard about Gayle's early departure. "But you just got back!" Manon wailed, throwing up her hands. Gayle smiled, rolling his eyes as he hugged his wife, winking at Emi as he did so.

"Oh, you'll be fine without me, and it's not long. Besides, this is Paris. What do you want me to get you?"

Immediately, Manon calmed down, sniffling as she pulled away. "Well, as long as you hurry home, I guess it can't be helped."

From her place at the kitchen table, Mir snorted in disgust. Gayle walked over to where the brunette sat, giving her shoulder an affectionate squeeze.

"I'll be back really soon, and then I'll be home for a while. Don't worry, Mir."

"I'm not."

He shook his head, then planted a kiss on Gwyn's face. The blonde looked really upset that her father was leaving so soon. "And don't worry, Gwyn, I'll be ok, I promise." Then, turning to Emi, he hugged her tightly.

"And what does my daughter who doesn't ever want anything want me to get her?"

"All I want is for you to uphold your end of the bargain; please don't get me anything else."

He smiled, brushing away that one strand of hair that always fell in front of her face. "Fair enough."

* * *

"Well, that's it for today," Emi muttered, getting up. She could feel Seto's eyes on her from his place behind his laptop. Mokuba stood up with her, smiling.

"Ok, I'll see you tomorrow."

Emi glanced at Seto, who kept on typing as he spoke. "Mokuba, your new tutor is going to be taking over Emi's job. You're getting too advanced for someone with only a high school diploma."

Emi sighed, running her fingers through her pale hair. "You didn't have to say it like that, you know."

"Yes."

The blonde was about to say something else when the sound of pounding feet could be heard. Emi knew instantly who it was; she could recognize her sisterss footsteps anywhere. Of course, it was odd for them to be running in the Kaiba mansion…

Gwyn came bolting into the room and flew into Emi's arms, clutching her older sister like a lifeline. The younger girl let out a small whimper as she buried her face in her sister, hiding her face from everyone. Emi's crystal eyes grew wide as she looked up at Mir. The brunette's face looked as if she had been crying.

"It's Dad," she whispered hoarsely. "His car… it crashed." As she spoke, Gwyn sobbed, hugging her older sister closer.

Emi suddenly felt sick. Were the walls closing in on her or was that just her imagination? It was as if the world was spinning too fast, like she was falling. It couldn't be true…. could it? Her dad had just been here. She had just said good bye to him. They had just laughed together. He had promised to come home more. He had…

Mir's rasping whisper cut through Emi's thoughts like a knife. "We need to go home."

Pulling herself together, Emi nodded. "Right, see you later, Kaiba, Mokuba." With that, she left tugging a sobbing Gwyn with her.

* * *

The next few days were like a blur. Everything seemed to happen so fast, yet so slowly. It was like time was just ticking by; each second was another second that their father was dead. Burial preperations had been started immediately after they had shipped Gayle's body back to Domino. Emi was so busy helping get everything in order that she barely had time to think. Mir and Gwyn had been excused from school for the next week or so, and they tried to help their sister get everything done. They all worked harder than they had to. Work kept the mind off… other things.

Like the future.

While Emi took care of the details of the funeral, Manon handled the publicity. The former theater star was good at that, and even if it wasn't half as much work as what Emi had to do, the blonde wasn't complaining. Gayle wasn't a popular man in the public's eye, but he had done most of his dealings with large rich company owners—whether it was for their company's gain or their own. Gayle was one-of-a-kind in his job, and many people were hurt by his departing. Or his departing business, as Mir had put it after one couple had come to pay their respects to their father.

Seto Kaiba, like the rest, had come as well. To his slight disgust, he was greeted by Gayle's wife Manon; she had informed him that Emi was busy getting the hearse ready. She was a loud, obnoxious woman in Kaiba's eyes, and her daughter was even worse. They hadn't stayed long; of course, Mokuba had been disappointed because he had been hoping to talk to the Hidenka girls, but it couldn't be helped.

* * *

The funeral happened faster than Emi could believe. The sun shone brilliantly, a huge contrast to the mood of her and her sisters; all three of them filled up with despair now that they had to really face their father's death. Gwyn hadn't stopped crying since it had happened; she had woken Emi up almost every night with horrible nightmares. Now she stood next to her older sisters, holding Emi's hand, purple eyes blank as she waited for their car to pull up.

Mir had been oddly quite the whole time. Besides the constant movement of her hands, the only other thing that betrayed her feelings were her amethyst eyes. Emi could see the pain and anger that seemed to be festering inside of the middle sister, burning in her eyes like fire. Her mouth was set in a thin line as she watched everyone walking by them, telling them just how sorry they were. She seemed so distant, as if she weren't even really there at all.

Emi sighed as she opened the door to their car, helping them get in. The drive to the cemetery wasn't very far but it felt like it was hours away. No one said anything. The silence was stifling.

Once they stopped at the grassy, tomb-covered hill, everyone lined up at the open grave. The ushers took the casket and placed it in the grave. Next to Emi, Gwyn gave a short, watery gasp, clutching her oldest sister's hand even more tightly.

Emi blinked, trying to be brave for her sisters. She wished with all her heart she could be like Gwyn and just let her feelings out without having to worry about it. She longed to fall to her knees, crying, weeping for her father. The only protection she had left. He had been her last hope for a normal life.

But she couldn't; she had to stay strong, for her sisters. So next to her, Gwyn wept for them, doing what only a child could do:

Cry.

Seto and Mokuba had joined the party of mourners; it had been Mokuba's idea. The younger Kaiba had insisted they go since "they are our friends." Seto was going to refuse, but then Cartter had also mentioned it would probably be a good thing for the image of KaibaCorp. So Seto, Mokuba, and sever other employees had joined the mourners.

Manon looked very composed, but sorrowful at the same time. Kaiba scoffed; she hadn't been named Domino Theater's number one actress for the years 2000 to 2004 for nothing. A few tears trailed down her face without messing up any of her makeup; she stood proudly next to her husband's grave as if he had died doing some heroic deed and not getting hit by a drunk driver.

Her daughter wasn't blessed with her mother's acting skills; she looked like she was about to laugh. Her gray eyes seemed to be roaming the crowds for something. Seto wasn't sure he wanted to know what.

Seto's own eyes fell on Gwyn. The youngest Hidenka's hand clung to her older sister's. Tears streaked the young girl's cheeks as she cried as only a child would be allowed to in the eyes of the world. Emi had always remarked on how beautiful her youngest sister was, and she was right. Even in the black dress she now wore, Gwyn looked like a fallen angel, crying over the death of a comrade.

On the little girl's left stood Mir, her hands constantly moving as she bit her bottom lip fiercely. Her purple eyes seemed to be very far away, as if she were thinking of something completely different. In many ways, she reminded him of himself when his parents had died. He knew from experience that the nervous twitching was all she could do to keep herself from crying in front of all these people.

And Emi? There she stood clinging to her sister's hands as if it were the only thing holding her up. Seto then realized that Gwyn wasn't holding Emi's hand because she was the one who needed it. It was because it was the only thing that the eldest could do to keep herself from dying with her father. The pain and helplessness in the older sister's crystal blue eyes was so evident she might as well have just screamed it out loud.

Suddenly, Seto wanted nothing more than to leave this horrible place and never come back.

* * *

They were home now and hiding from the party that was being held downstairs. They would have to go down there soon to clean up, but for now, the girls were just happy to be in each other's company. Emi frowned as she glanced at Mir. The brunette was sitting on her bed, her hands still moving constantly –twilling her hair, straighten her dress, cracking her knuckles, rubbing her arms- yet her gaze never moving from its spot on the floor.

"Mir, are you ok?"

Mir turned on her sister, her purple eyes blazing with anger and sorrow. "What do _you_ think? Our father, the last chance we had at a normal life, is _gone_. He just left us! And the worst part is that I… I don't even care! He was never with us anyway! It's like he isn't even dead!" She turned away, trying futilely to hide her tears. Emi bit her lip, looking for the right things to say.

"Oh, Mirati." She gently reached out to hug her younger sister, but Mir flinched away.

"Stop it! You're not mom! I'm sick of you always trying to make us feel better! What about you?! You were daddy's little girl! You were the one who got hurt the most at Uncle's!"

"Mir… that's not…"

"What if Manon _does_ send us back! Oh Ra…" Mir's eyes grew wide with horror. "I…"

Suddenly, she stopped talking. Wiping her eyes, she took a deep breath. "I'm ok. I'm ok."

Both Emi and Gwyn looked at their sister, worry written on their faces.

"Mir?"

"I said I'm fine, ok?!"

* * *

"Emi, can I have a word?"

The blonde looked up from her cleaning. Manon was standing in the doorway, a calm expression on her face as she held a wine glass in her perfectly-shaped hand.

"Yes?"

"It's about…" The woman paused as if looking for the right words. "Well, everything, I guess. The future,"

Emi felt her stomach drop. She had known this was coming, she had just hoped… maybe… things could just go on as they always had. But that was impossible, wasn't it? Not with Manon as their step-mother. She would only let those girls be if she gained something out of it.

"They are trying to get your father's will together and, well, I'm not sure if I can afford to keep you three without your father's income."

Emi sighed. hHer father had made a considerable living that would have been fine for five people to live on comfortably. But what Manon meant was that she couldn't afford to have three other people if she wished to live the way she _wanted_ to.

"I don't want to send you girls away… but I might not have a choice if things don't pan out." She looked mournful. "You don't have many relatives and…"

"Please," Emi whispered. "Please don't send us to my Uncle's. Look, how about I look for a new house, and meanwhile, I pay you what money I get from Seto Kaiba's"

Maono shook her head. "That's the whole problem; you're not my concern anymore. But Mir and Gwyn…" She paused again, her eyes drifting to her glass of wine before looking back at Emi. "Well, they are legally my children." Another pause; was she just acting like this to drive Emi crazy? "But I might be able to let you be able to take care of them for me if…"

"If what?'

"If you give your job at KaibaCorp to Fedha, and then quit your other dealings with Seto Kaiba and move to another town."

Emi's crystal eyes grew wide. "W…_Why_?!"

Manon's expression didn't waver for a moment. "Because I want Fedha to have a comfortable life and you need to start over." She looked down at her wine glass again, letting the red liquid spin around the cup. "Unless you'd like me to send your sisters to a more… capable relative. That is, until we find the will… and even then, I'm not sure it'll help much."

Emi felt sick, looking away from her step-mother. Why was she doing this? _**HOW**_ could she do this?! Her father had just died! Didn't she have _any_ heart at _all?_

Taking a deep breath, the blonde tried to clear her thoughts. Manon smiled, taking a sip of her beverage, knowing she would get her way in the end. "I'll let you think about it."

* * *

After the little talk with her step-mom, Emi had finished up cleaning and then had joined her sisters in their bedroom. Subsequent to dressing, Emi climbed into her bed, where Gwyn was already asleep. She had talked to her step-mother about an hour ago; now, she stayed up, just staring at the ceiling, trying to figure out what to do. Across the room, Mir was asleep somewhere inside her bed of pillows.

Next to her Gwyn, stirred. "Emi?"

"Yes?"

"Is it my fault mom died?"

"_What?_ Gwyn!"

Mir gave a small groan and turned over. A few of her pillows fell off the bed; Emi was surprised her sister fit in that bed with all those pillows. Gulping, Emi turned to face her littlest sister.

"Why are you asking that, Gwyn?"

"Because I want to know."

"No. Mom was very sick; it had nothing to do with you. But, Gwyn, Mom loved you so much. Did you know that before you were born she told me that, even if there was a small chance that she might die giving birth to you, she would still want to take that chance? She told me that, no matter what, she wanted you to be in this world. And Gwyn, you know what? I'm glad Mom had you, because I love you so much." Emi gently kissed her sister's forehead. Gwyn sniffed, then buried her face in Emi's night shirt.

"Oh, Emi…"

Gwyn cried herself to sleep in Emi's arms, letting all her feelings out. Emi was still up hours later.

She knew what she had to do. It was just… It was just doing it that kept her up all night.

* * *

Both younger Hidenka girls were just about to leave for school when their sisters stopped them. "Mir, before you and Gwyn go, I need to talk to you." The two of them stopped, turning to Emi.

"Yeah?"

Emi sighed. "We're going to move."

"_What?"_

"Manon… Our loving step-mom told me that I had two choices. One: Quit KaibaCorp and move, or two: Let you guys go live with Uncle."

At the very mention of their uncle, both girls paled.

"Bu—but can't you fight it?"

Emi shook her head. "I stayed up all night trying to think of a way, really I did. But there just isn't any other way around it. Think about it, though. We could start over fresh. Just the three of us. It'll be fun, an adventure."

Gwyn looked like she was going to cry again. "But what about Mokuba?"

Mir sighed, her once-bright eyes now dull. "Mokuba will be fine, Gwyn. He'll make other friends. Heck, maybe Seto will hang around him more. Emi's right, we need to move out, start over. It's a good idea, and I'm glad we're doing it." At this, she looked up at her older sister, a smile plastered to her face. "You're always looking out for us, Emi. We trust you to do the right thing, and I'm happy we're moving. Don't worry about it, we'll be fine."

Then she walked briskly out of the house. Gwyn blinked, then turned to leave as well.

"Mir, wait for me!"

* * *

Oh their walk to school, both girls were silent. Mir was deep in thought, and Gwyn didn't want to bother her sister. Mir had been acting so strangely since their father had died.

Once they reached Gwyn's school, Mir smiled giving her little sister a hug. "Everything's going to be ok. Don't worry, ok?"

Gwyn nodded, hugging Mir back. "I wish we didn't have to move. I'm going to miss Mokuba, and Bakura, and your friend with the dyed hair, and your other friends… Will you make new friends when we move?"

Mir squeezed her sister tighter, not really wanting to think about it. "Yeah, I'm sure I will. And no matter what happens, we'll be together, right?"

"Right."

After dropping Gwyn off, Mir continued to school. The classes dragged on, irritating her slightly, as she had missed so many. Man, she hated being behind on school.

Since it was a Friday, Emi would pick up Gwyn, which meant that Mir would have to walk home alone. In a way, Mir was glad; that way, she could think. After gathering up her homework, she trudged out of the large building, making sure to avoid everyone she knew.

"Mirati!"

_Drat. _Mir stopped, glancing over her shoulder to see Ryou running towards her, looking like he was trying to say something but not sure how. "What do you want, Bakura?"

"I just wanted to make sure you're alright; I heard about your father."

"Yeah, that's what happens in life, we live and we die."

"But…" His voice trailed off. Mir frowned and turned to him.

"Look, you can stop feeling bad for me! I'm really sick of people treating me like a little kid. I've been through enough to be handle things like a normal teenager and not some poor little child."

"I was…"

"You always ARE! Since the day I met, you just wanted to be my friend 'cause I didn't have any. Well, guess what? I don't WANT any friends! _That's_ why I didn't have any!"

"Mirati…"

The brunette turned her back on her white-haired classmate. "Forget it. I guess you should know that I'm moving." She couldn't hold back the tears anymore. Growling to herself, she turned and ran away, giving a small wave as she bolted. Trying to wipe away her tears, she hoped he hadn't seen them as they streamed down her face.

Mir kept running until she came to the small park near their school. Hoping she could get a little time to be alone, she slowed. She had been running so hard that she couldn't hear him behind her until now.

"Mirati… I… I didn't want to be your friend because you didn't have any… I wanted to be your friend because you seemed so nice."

She froze, his words cutting her like a knife. "How do you know what I'm like?"

"I didn't. That's why I wanted to get to know you."

Mir took in a deep breath, her shoulders slumping. "Ryou, you don't get it, do you? We're probably going to be leaving. Why don't you just let it _go_? it's not like I'm that great of a person."

"I think you are."

Mir's purple eyes widened and she slowly turned around. "How can you say that! You—you don't know me at all! I am sarcastic, loud, I say stupid things, I DO even stupider things, and I HATE my father for leaving us."

"It wasn't his fault he died."

"No, I hate him for _always_ leaving us! He… You have no idea! When mom died, he was NEVER around! He was always out! We lived in so many places; I just sat there and watched my family fall apart! I hated him so much! And I… I never got to tell him… how… how much he hurt us… and now he's left us again, only he's never coming back." She couldn't stop the tears from flowing again; covering her face with her hands, she sobbed into them. "And now I'll never see any of you guys again, we'll be alone… again."

Suddenly she felt a pair of arms pull her forward and she found herself crying into Ryou's chest.

"It's alright," he whispered. "Even if you move away, I'll never stop being your friend."

* * *

"Seto, we need to talk."

The brunette looked up to see Emi slowly walking toward his desk. Her crystal eyes showed an emotion that Seto didn't recognize. Slowly, he sat back, folding his hands under his chin, blue eyes sharp.

"Yes?"

"I'm leaving. My father is dead; I don't need to uphold his part of the bargain anymore."

"So that's it. He dies and you're just going to leave?"

Emi bit her lip. Late nights of staying up and thinking what to say were suddenly coming back to bite her. "As a matter of fact, _yes_. I'd rather die than work for someone like you for a moment longer."

"Oh, so I'm some sort of monster, am I?"

"Stop putting this back on yourself! You have no idea what it's like for me. I just lost my _father._ Can you even imagine what that's like for me? I'm alone with two younger girls who need taking care of! No, you _wouldn't_ understand." She sighed, turning away. "Look, this is the end, ok? Now that my father is dead, our bargain is off. You have no hold on me."

"So you were only working here because of my so-called hold on you? You took Mokuba to that amusement park because of my hold on you? You helped me when I was sick because of my _hold on you_?"

Emi winced, looking away from those sharp blue eyes. She couldn't do this; she wasn't strong enough. Why couldn't he just let her walk away? She had never been much use to him… ever. Not anything that Fedha couldn't do, anyway. The thought of her step-sister taking her place made Emi want to throw up.

"You decide," she whispered. Then, turning her back, she left Seto forever.

This was what she got for asking for something. All she had wanted was for her father to come back so that they could be family. She had wanted to fix her family so it would all be easier. But he had never come back, and her life had suddenly become one big mess.

"Never again," she whispered to herself. "Never again."

* * *

**The End!**

**Haha just kidding!! Man wouldn't that soooo super suck if that WAS the end ; I'm sure you would murder me, I know I would murder me if I did that XD. **

**Now to the most amazing people!! You are the soul of this story. You are the ones who make it great! –hug-**

**Imperfection**:

Thanks so much!! :D well here's the next chapter!!

**cheeky half-demon:**

lol haza for little witches!! XD yeah she really is a little brat XD

**Claamchowder: **

Bakura is just amazing!! 3

**killthesnakesx: **

2 more now, but 2 more stories XD I love all the sisters too XD

**PB-Queen-101: **

Awww well there is going to be a Rose at the end… but I'm not saying anything more then that

Lol not reaaaaaly I just thought it would be funny :D –is shot for her randomness-

I'm glad you like to see the families relationship cuz I love writing about it! :D

You'll seeeeeeee XD

Awww thanks so much for asking!! You are such an amazing person!!

**DarkestInk:**

Thanks I love writing about Kaiba to XD

**Lightest'Ink:**

Already have a chapter and a half of it written :D

**Anonomus:**

Wow thank you soooo much!! You have no idea how this made my day!!

**Ari Saki: **

Yes SHAME!! –throws… but flying squirrels are so cute!-

**Well that's all for tonight, now I'm off to draw sexy picture of Bakura for Kit who's birthday is coming up!**

**-Whistles happy birthday as she pulls out her sketch pad-**

**-Liz**

**Element-girls **


	14. The Truth and The Lies

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* * *

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Disclaimer: I'm off to steal the rights for Yugioh, but they can keep GX for all I care (it doesn't have any Ryou in it)

**This chapter is dedicated to ****PB-Queen-101: **

**For sending me a massive review of love!! I am still in shock at how massive it is! And every single word of it is love for my story –throws plushi's at PB-Queen (who is getting a nickname soon so look out) –**

**My laptop still hasn't come home to me which means still no picture for this chapter –sniff- but maybe I'll post two next chapter. Also I'm leaving for collage next week so I don't really think the last chapter will be up then… but we can try :D**

**This chapter was HARD to keep everyone IC, even my oc's where hard!! It's just one of those turns of events where things don't go as planed I guess. But keep in mind that this I based off Beauty and the Beast soooooo yeah, **

**Oh and I'm sorry but the idea of Seto firing someone before they walked out of his office was too good for me to pass up… ; **

"_**Ah! Beauty, you are only just in time to save his life. See what happens when people do not keep their promises! If you had delayed one day more you would have found him dead." **_

_**Beauty and the Beast**_

* * *

Seto was furious; nothing seemed to be going right! First Emi had left, then the girl who'd replaced her at KaibaCorp was a complete idiot—he had fired her before she had even walked out of his office. And _then_ the program they had been working on had hit a road block. He really couldn't take much more of this. The pressure was so intense it was driving him crazy. And to make matters worse, he couldn't think straight!

Why had Emi left?! It didn't make any sense to him. All those things she'd said. Did she really believe them? She must have, or she wouldn't have said it.

Seto growled in frustration as he ran his fingers through his thick brown hair. She was just like everyone else; he had been a fool to let her so close to him. Then again he hadn't even really tried to let her get close. She had just done it on her own. AH! His thoughts were so jumbled and he was getting so angry he couldn't even breathe properly.

A message flashed across the screen in front of him. Letting out another frustrated growl, Seto's fingers flew across the keyboard. After typing his message, Seto stood up and briskly walked out of his office. He was going to fix this problem no matter what. No matter how.

It wasn't too hard to get into that back room. All it took was his key card. He vaguely wondered why something he had feared so much wasn't more safely guarded. Dismissing the idea, he went to work.

* * *

It was an hour after dinner and Seto still wasn't home; Mokuba was starting to worry. Seto hadn't been himself since Emi and her sisters had left. The day she had told him she was leaving, Seto had come home and calmly told Mokuba that Emi was no longer coming. When the black-haired boy had asked why, Seto's mood had worsened, and he'd left his brother sitting confused and alone at the dinner table. After that little talk, Seto has started to come home at odd times of the day. Once, he had come home at noon and announced that he "wasn't going back to that hell hole." He had taken Mokuba out to a few different game shops (not Yugi's), and the brothers had hung out together for the rest of the day. The day after that, he hadn't gone to work at all. The day after _that_, he came home for dinner only to go back to work, not returning until the next morning. And now… Now, he wasn't home for dinner, and Mokuba was worried about him. So after scarfing—a word Gwyn had told him that Mir had told her—down his food, he went to go find his brother.

* * *

"Brother?"

"What is it, Mokuba? Aren't you supposed to be at home?"

The younger Kaiba sat down on a stool that was near a large control panel. "I was worried about you, Seto."

Seto sighed as he stood up, looking over the charts. "Don't be."

Mokuba shifted in his seat, glancing around. "Why are you working on this? I thought you told me we would never again mess with virtualization."

"I had a few ideas that I think will fix those bugs. And if they do, all our other problems will be solved ."

Somehow, Mokbua wasn't sure it would fix all their problems, since some of them didn't seem work-related. But he didn't point this out. Nodding, the black-haired boy just spun around on the stool a few times. "Oh, ok."

* * *

"Shhhh, just get in the box, Gwyn."

"But, Mir…"

"Oh, come on, Emi will laugh."

Gwyn frowned, glancing at the large cardboard box they had been unpacking, its contents on the floor. Mir laughed, tapping it with the video camera she was holding. "Come _on_, Gwyn."

"Ok, fine."

After climbing in, Gwyn closed the lid while Mir darted around some more boxes to hide herself. Slowly, she let her camera peek out from behind her hiding place.

"Ok, guys, that's the last bo… guys?"

"BOO!"

"AHHHHH!"

Emi was so startled that she fell backwards; the box that had been in her hand went flying, crashing down next to the blonde girl.

"Ohhh, Sissy, I'm sorry! Are you ok?!" Jumping out of the box, Gwyn ran to her sister, helping her up. Mir came out of her hiding place laughing and holding up her video camera.

"We got you soooo good."

Emi laughed as she stood up, shaking her head. "Yes, you sure did." Still chuckling, she bent down to make sure the contents of the box were alright.

"Well, it was just your books, Mir, so they're ok."

"You dropped my babies!" Turning off the camera, Mir ran to check on her books.

Gwyn was helping her sister open the box and check everything when the phone rang. Sighing, Emi walked over, picking it up. "Hello?"

"Emi?"

"Mokuba?"

The young boy's voice sounded strained, like he had been crying; desperation laced his words.

"Oh, Emi! You have to come back! I don't know what to do!"

"Calm down, Mokuba, what happened?"

"It's Seto! He's been acting odd ever since you left, and then the project he's been working on hasn't been making any progress… then… then…"

"Then what? It's ok, Mokuba, just calm down and tell me."

"Then he used that old program! It's his virtualizer; we had it tried once before. He thought he could fix it and used it… but Emi, something went wrong! Cartter is at a meeting out of town and Chol's gone 'cause she's going to have her baby soon and I… I don't know who I can trust!"

"Ok, calm down, uhhh…" Emi looked around. Both her sisters were sitting in the sea of boxes watching her, the unspoken question in their eyes. "Ok, Mokuba, here's what's going to happen. You sit tight. Mir, Gwyn, and I will come back and we'll see what we can do from there, ok?"

"Ok." The boy's breaths were coming in ragged, panicked gasps.

"You're at KaibaCorp, right?"

"Yes."

"Ok, wait there and we'll be there as soon as we can, ok?"

"Ok."

"It'll take me about a half an hour… so hang tight."

"Ok." She couldn't be sure, but his breathing seemed to be calming down.

"All right, I'm hanging up. Don't worry, Moki, it's going to be ok."

With that, she hung up the phone, turning to her sisters. Both girls had already gotten up and retrieved their jackets. Mir held up Emi's jacket and keys; next to her, Gwyn looked up at her oldest sister with big purple eyes.

"Let's go," Mir said, as if they were agents on a mission. Gwyn nodded with the exact same attitude shining in her eyes.

* * *

The thirty-some minutes it took to get to KaibaCorp seemed more like thirty hours. Emi's heart was pounded so hard in her chest she could hardly think about anything else. What was she doing? She knew next-to-nothing about this kind of thing. Virtualization? What the heck was that? What was _she_ going to do when she got there?

Taking a deep breath, she quickly pulled herself together. She'd figure something out when she arrived.

The sign welcoming them to Domino loomed over them like a huge warning as she sped past it. Silently, she prayed no cops stopped her, because she was definitely going over the speed limit.

"Hey, look, it's Ryou!" Gwyn squealed. Quickly, she rolled down the window and waved to the white-haired boy who looked up, shocked to see the three sisters as they sped by.

It was pretty deserted at KaibaCorp when the girls got there; everyone had pretty much left for the night. Mokuba was waiting for them at the front door, ready to let them in. After a brief hello, he quickly led them toward the virtualization room. Seto was sitting in a funny-looking pod-thing, wearing an odd helmet that was attacked to a huge wall of computers. Emi blinked in shock at the mass amount of machinery. Hurriedly, Mokuba started to explain what was going on to the very confused sisters.

"I can't pull him back! He's too far gone! Last time he did this, Yugi and his friends went in after him."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Emi walked over to the screens; they were all glowing and flashing as words and numbers scrolled across them. Taking a deep breath, she turned to Mokuba.

"Ok, I know next-to-nothing about these kinds of things, but here's the plan: I go in and get him while you try to shut down the computer."

"What?! Sissy, no!"

"Wait, Emi, I don't think that's such a good idea…."

Mokuba turned to Emi's two frantic sisters, then back to Emi. "You don't have—"

"Yes, I do…. Now, show me how to hook myself up."

Nodding, the black-haired Kaiba helped Emi into a pod next to Seto's and showed her how to hook herself in. Both of her younger sisters watched with worry in their eyes. Emi turned to them, smiling.

"Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it," she reassured them. Mir frowned.

"You better, I'm not losing another family member."

Emi's smile faded slightly as she nodded solemnly, waiting for Mokuba to turn on the computers, sending her mind into this foreign world.

* * *

He was trapped.

Somehow, the security program he had used had become corrupted. At first, he'd thought he had succeeded in cleaning up the viruses, but he'd soon realized that something was wrong.

He took off running through the game; suddenly, pictures from the security cameras began flashing before his eyes. There were pictures of him walking into the building, of Cartter talking to some other employees, of Mrs. Chol doing some paper work while lovingly rubbing her swollen stomach.

There were pictures of Emi and her sisters, laughing as they cleaned the building. It was as if the computer knew he didn't want to see her, because it suddenly stopped. But then it showed more footage of her. The time he had yelled at her in his office before he had gotten sick. The time she had been singing about her loathing for him. Her running around the building laughing with her sisters. Her, her, her! It was enough to make him want to vomit. Growling, he tried to find a way to shut off the computer.

"Why? Why didn't you try to stop me?"

He froze at the familiar voice. Slowly turning, he came face-to-face with the young woman who plagued him. Her crystal blue eyes filled with tears. "I wanted you to stop me; you knew I didn't really want to leave. Why are you so uncaring?"

His blue eyes scanned her; he let out a low growl. "You're not her," he hissed.

A strange twisted smile came to her lips. "Does it matter? You'll never get out."

More images; pictures of Mokuba coming by to visit him. The day Mrs. Chol applied for her job. Emi coming in for her first day of work.

"Look what you did to me! You could have driven anyone away with the way you treated me! Why, Seto? Are you so cold-hearted that you don't care at all?

"Look at me with my sisters! With your brother, we were happy. But you, you treated me like a slave."

There were more of her now, more copies, more fakes, all telling him… the truth. He snarled, trying to block them out.

"Stop it! Get back! You don't fool me!"

"Why do you think I left the moment my father died? You're nothing but a monster."

Images, so many images, some he had never seen before, some he had never know about. It was driving him crazy.

"Not even Mokuba deserves you as a brother, you BEAST!"

"GET OUT OF MY MIND!"

"Seto?"

The young man looked once again, seeing still the woman who was haunting him.

"Stay back," he hissed. "I'm through with your mind games."

This one was different; her eyes were soft, gentle. Reminding him of a mother who had just found her child hurt from bullies. There was pity in her eyes, so different from the holograms before her.

"I'm not a trick," she whispered gently, as if she was trying to coax a kitten out of its hiding place.

"Haven't you done enough? Just leave me."

"Seto." Her voice was soft, but it didn't fool him. Slowly, she reached out to touch him, but he flinched away, eyes narrow.

"Why would the real Emiko come after me?" he demanded bitterly. "_**They**_ have already shown me what I have done to you."

Emi's blue orbs never wavered from his. Again, she reached out for him, her eyes begging to be trusted. "Trust me, please," she whispered. "Trust me to be who I am and not what you think I am. Trust me to see through that cold, overpowering monster to that awkward young man who just wants to be loved." He stared at her, dark sapphire eyes meeting crystal blue ones. "Trust me." This time, he didn't move when she reached out for him. Holding his head in her hands, she forced him to face her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I should have come sooner. Please let Mokuba bring you back. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She was crying now. Hesitantly, as if in a dream, Seto reached out and brushed away the small tear.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Ryou?!"

The white-haired boy smiled, rubbing the back of this head. "The door was open. What happened? You guys were driving really fast."

"Emi's gone after Seto," Gwyn said as if that made perfect sense. Ryou turned to Mir for a clearer answer.

"Seto is trapped inside this virtual world; Emi, being Emi, went in after him." Her gaze never left Emi's unmoving body. Her voice was emotionless. Ryou glanced at her solemn face, studying her.

"She'll be fine, and she'll bring Seto out with her," he murmured. Mir turned to him for a moment, then looked back at her sister. Ryou caught sight of the glint of unshed tears in her amethyst eyes.

"I'm scared, Ryou."

Gently, he took her hand in his. "She'll be fine, don't worry, she'll be fine." Mir squeezed his hand, eyes fastened on her sister as if staring at her would help Emi find her way back.

Ryou looked down at her hand; she was so tense. Gently, the white-haired boy started to run this thumb over the top of her hand, hoping she would relax. Giving a weak smile, she glanced at him again, trying to show her appreciation for his act of kindness. Suddenly, Mokuba broke the silence.

"I… I think I'm getting a reading!" the younger boy cried. Ryou smiled, glancing down at Mir

"See?"

Upon hearing the good news, Gwyn had run over to where Mokuba stood. "Can I help?" she asked desperately, wanting to be useful. The black-haired boy's blue-gray eyes were fixed on the computer. "I… press that button there, then if it asks for a password, type in 'dragon wings.'" Nodding, Gwyn did as she was told.

"I got a lock! They're coming back!"

Letting out a squeal, Mir turned to Ryou and hugged him, tears of relief streaming down her face. "Thank you," she whispered into his chest. "Thank you for being there for me."

He smiled, hugging her back. "I'll always be there for you."

* * *

**One more chapter!! –faints- this has got to be a new record for how fast I finished this story!! You should all be grateful!! Normally it takes me months at a time to get chapters out. –shot- **

**So my fluff chapter –flamed- for all those who weren't so into fluff, sorry. For those who wanted more fluff –coughcecicought- sorry ; this IS Beauty and the Beast so I had to have Beauty come back to save her Beast –shot down once again-**

**So this brings up a question I'm not sure I asked yet, what's your favorite paring? I'm not even sure which one is my favorit… they are all fun to write (of course in this fic it's mostly just Pendantshipping (emixSeto) and Reflectionshipping (MirxRyou) yes we (kit and I) named the parings –stabbed- **

**Now onto the people who make this story what it is: **

**cheeky half-demon: **

It will don't worry, I'm not very good at writing sad cuz I enjoy happy (humor) stuff more

**Emilee-san**

Aww –gives tissue and hugs- it'll get better!! I swear! Manon just wants what's best for her and her daughter, she doesn't really care about Emi and her sisters.

Ryou's an angel!! He's just the sweetest thing ever.

Thank you so much!! I did have a lot of that written in advance so it was fun to write :D

**Claamchowder:**

Awwww –hug- it IS really sad :( we should all team up and kill the step-mom XD

**Anonomus **

Awww –sorry if I feel a little proud- oh don't worry I will :D –blush- thank you so much!!

**PB-Queen-101:**

-Is in utter shock at the massive review you just sent- HOLLYNESSS!! –faints- that has got to be the longest most amazing review I have ever gotten!! –faints again-

Wow me the goddess of writing? I don't' think so but you my dear are the goddess of reviewing!! And supporting!! SHESH!! This chapter is dedicated to you!

I'm glad cuz that's what I was trying to do. Emi only cares about her family and since that's what she loves most I thought it would be REALLY sad if it started to fall apart.

We learn more about their uncle in the next story (two chapters from now) and if you think Manon is bad… your going to HATE him. HAHA I'll send them over (can I come two? I always wanted sisters too! –has three younger brothers)

Yeah me to, it was hard to keep him IC while trying to make him look upset. I'm sooo glad you caught all that

(awww I want a boyfriend like that!! 3 that's just adorable!)

Mir and Bakura was a really hard part was hard part to write but I really wanted to do it

Hehe sorry ; I have somewhat of a mean streak

Don't worry I am a sucker for happy endings so this one WILL have one :D

Lol well if they do have a limit it's longer then what you sent me 3

Well Cindy (Laptop) will be at the dell headquarters tomorrow at 8 (or so they say) I'm hoping that she'll be back by Friday… I miss her.

I fly out to Cali on the 23rd of this month, I'm really going to miss all my friends here.

You think? Wow I wish, that would be so cool XD somehow I don't think anyone would buy it.

The sequel SHOULD be better, I'm always learning so things SHOULD be progressing. I know so far the people who have read the first chapter of the sequel have liked it. WOOT!! Safeway!! GO YOU!! Good luck at your job!! Remember have fun!! I always try to make my job a blast and I love working!! 3

**Lightest'Ink:**

Woops XD sorry didn't mean to scare you ; yeah I love making lot's of stuff happen XD it makes things more interesting and people crave for more XD yeah I'm evil that way. Yep with two new characters with big roles in the plot and a whole page about Manon. Just to let you know this one's mostly about MirXRyou with plenty of EmixSeto to spice things up from their ubber sweetness

**Happy Hour123:**

WOW REALLY!! –beams- I'm so happy! –shot-

Awwww Gwyn is amazing I love her too 3

**Reiko The Awesome:**

Lol Mir's the toughest of the sisters yet her relationship is probably the sweetest XD

I have a feeling Ryou didn't want to lose her (he already lost his family)

Yeah poor Gwyn, at least she'll have her sisters

Lol no he doesn't want Emi to leave XD he's use to having her around and I have this feeling Seto hates change –laughs-

**Imperfection:**

Well she did leave… but we'll see how long he will let's her SAY that way –snickers-

Yeah Bakura rocks, he's like the sweetest little thing EVER!! It really is sad how much screen time he DOESN'T have –sniff-

Don't this chapter isn't as sad.

**killthesnakesx**:

Well she had to or her sisters would be sent away. And as much as she likes working for Seto she loves her sisters more. But don't worry she comes back :D

**Love you all and See ya soon -hugs-**

-Liz (Element-girls)


	15. A Red Rose

**Disclaimer: well I failed to own Yugioh in THIS story but next time…. Hehehehemuhahahahahaahaha!! **

**Wow the end already!! –faints- I know a lot of you are sad but don't worry!! There is more!! A whole story more!! **

**Also my dear laptop STILL isn't around so no picture –is mad- BUTTTT you can all go to my profile and see all the amazing fanart!! There is even a picture of the necklace that started it all!**

**Dedicated to: **

**Desert_Moon**

**Who proof read this whole story, makes me laugh every day, and is the best friend I could ever ask for.**

**And **

**All my fans**

**You guys make my story what it is!! I really could never have done it with out all your wonderful support! Hugs each and everyone of you.**

"_Dear beauty, try not to regret all you have left behind you, for you are destined to better fate. Only do not let yourself be deceived by appearances. "_

_-Beauty and the Beast_

**

* * *

**

The first thing Seto saw when he woke up was Mokuba's face. "BROTHER! Don't you ever do that to me again!" the younger boy yelled. Seto blinked, unsure of what was going on around him. Behind the black-haired boy, someone chuckled.

He knew that laugh anywhere.

Emi was sitting peacefully on a small couch that was next to the bed. "In case you're wondering, you're in the nurse's room at KaibaCorp. We've cleaned this place so many times and I never knew they had a nurse's office."

"Probably would have been good for all the times Emi fell and hurt herself."

Oh look, her annoying sister was here, too. Next to her, Ryou shook his head, laughing lightly. Emi rolled her eyes good-naturedly, then stood up, walking over to Kaiba's bed so that she could stand next to Mokuba. She looked like she was about to say something, but Gwyn spoke up before her older sister could voice her thoughts.

"We wanted to make sure you were ok. But we need to get back soon before Manon finds but we're here."

"Gwyn…"

"What?"

"It's nothing," Emi muttered. "We should get going." She turned to leave, but Seto grabbed her wrist.

"I want you to stay." She turned, her crystal eyes meeting his. Mir coughed, then stood up.

"K, guys, let's go see if the snack machine outside works, I'm hungry."

Emi glared daggers at her loudmouthed sister as the younger teens left. Once they were gone, the blonde sighed, then sat down in the chair that was next to the bed that Mokuba had been using before.

"What is this all about?" Seto asked, his eyes narrowed, demanding an explanation. Emi shifted in her seat, trying to get away from his powerful gaze.

"It's just… nothing."

"Tell me right now."

Emi sighed, her gaze falling on her folded hands. "My step-mom said she would let Gwyn and Mir live with me if I moved…"

"Why didn't you tell me that?"

"I knew if I did, you'd try to make me stay, and then my mom would have sent them away. I'm sorry."

Seto exhaled slightly, letting his gaze wander around the room. "Why did you come after me? Was it because Mokuba asked you to?"

Emi glanced back down at her hands for a moment, then to Seto again.

"Well, I could never say no to your brother, but…" She sighed, trying to find the right words. "I… I really was worried about you. I… I kind of feel responsible."

"Why?"

She shrugged. "'Cause I was a jerk just leaving like that. I hurt you."

He scoffed. "No one can hurt me."

Her smile told him she wasn't buying into his act this time. They had been having such a nice chat, too. Then, like always, Seto's ego got in the way. "Whatever. That's my reasoning."

* * *

The Hidenka girls left about an hour later. Mokuba and Ryou were outside to see them off, saying their goodbyes. Seto, however, was busy making some phone calls. Mir grumbled something about him being ungrateful, but Emi didn't mind. It was all part of his… charm. -Or lack there of-

After their little adventure, the normal days seemed to be extra long and boring. It didn't last, however; only a week later, Emi got a call from Cartter.

They had found the will.

It didn't take long to get all the lawyers and things set up. Manon was eager to get everything settled and done with. Emi, unlike her stepmother, wasn't looking forward to the whole deal. She hardly had any money to keep up with the rent, so a lawyer was out of the question. It was going to be a long, depressing meeting. However, when the blonde walked into the small room, she was surprised to be greeted by one of KaibaCorp's many lawyers. She was now sitting in the meeting, pretty much having no idea what was going on, but trying her best to keep up. At first it seemed like Manon had this case pretty much covered until Emi's lawyer spoke up.

"It says here that the house and most of the Hidenka profit belongs to Emiko Hidenka."

"WHAT?!"

"What?"

Both step-mother and daughter leaned forward to take a closer look at the will. The lawyer nodded. "Of course, Mrs. Hidenka is still the legal guardian of Mir and Gwyn, but… the house, as well as a mass majority of Mr. Hidenka's fortune, is the property of Miss Hidenka."

"Uh, Manon, may I have a moment with you in private?"

"Of course," Manon said in a sugar-sweet voice as she followed Emiko outside into the hall.

"Look, I'll strike a bargain with you. I'll let you and Fedha live with me if you let everything go back to the way it was before."

The older woman frowned for a moment, thinking it over. "I would have to talk to my lawyer."

"Who you won't be able to pay if you don't agree to this deal…. Take it or leave it."

Manon's frown deepened. "Fine. It doesn't matter, since Fedha was fired before she could even start working."

Emi stifled a giggle at the thought of Seto working with Fedha. That girl was only interested in males and how she looked. In fact, the blonde was surprised it had taken him _that_ long to fire her.

* * *

"Welcome back, Mirati!"

"Yeah, we missed ya."

Mir turned to Ryou and Satra, who were smiling at their friend. Mir laughed, happy to be back. The teachers had been nice enough to let her have her old desks back—provided she worked hard to catch up. Ryou had offered to help the brunette after school, and Satra had said she would help, too. The only problem, the strawberry blonde had told her, was she never really understood what was going on in the classes, unless it was gym. In that case, she could help Mir pass with flying colors. Mir had laughed as the light-red-haired girl told her this—all in one breath—then thanked Satra for her offer and said she'd think about it.

So after her first day back, Ryou walked her home, picking Gwyn up on the way out. The small blonde was very happy to see Ryou again and wore a huge smile on her face all the way home.

"So, are you glad to be back?"

Mir laughed. "DUH! Of course, we still have to live with the steps, but it won't be for long… just till Gwyn's eighteen… that's like… four years… GAAAA, hurry and grow, Gwyn!"

The little blonde frowned, her eyebrows knitting together. "It's not my fault!"

Ryou laughed, patting the younger girl on the head. "She's just kidding, Gwyn."

Mir rolled her eyes, nudging her classmate in the ribs. "You know me better than my own sister, how sad is that?"

"Gwyn just takes everything too literally."

"Yeah! ... What does that mean?" Emi was at home to meet the teens; after giving both her sisters hugs, she walked toward the kitchen, talking to them over her shoulder. "I have to go to see Seto and thank him for his help. But first, how would you guys like some cookies I just made?"

"YES!"

"Thanks, Sissy!"

"Let me help you get them," Ryou offered smiling.

"Aw, aren't you a little gentleman. Mir, we need to keep this one."

The brunette looked up from the school books she had been pulling out of her bag, confused. "This one?"

Laughing, Emi led Ryou into the kitchen and handed him a plate of chocolate chip cookies.

"I'm so glad you became Mir's friend, you make her so happy."

Ryou laughed, blushing slightly as he took the plate from the eldest sister. "...Er, thank you."

"And y ou even get Gwyn to come of her shell a little. You're our little angel." Emi laughed as she ruffled the younger boy's hair. "Thank you, Ryou."

"…You're welcome. I'm glad to be their friend."

"You guys coming? Did Emi tripped and hit her head? Is there blood?"

Emi chuckled as they both walked back into the living room. "No, I'm fine, thanks for worrying, Mir. Well, I'm off, you guys have fun."

"Ok!"

* * *

"So I heard you fired my replacement after you hired her. What's the matter? Didn't like her?"

Seto rolled his eyes as he looked up at the blonde who stood in his doorway. "She wouldn't have lasted even if I had kept her. The only reason I hired her in the first place was because she was whining, then I just fired her before she left."

"Wow, not only is that cold, but that has GOT to be a record."

"I would not have that that wretched girl anywhere near me or my company. What do you want, anyway?"

Emi laughed, walking up to Seto's desk, leaning on it so she was on the same level as him. "I came by to thank you for helping me out with the will."

"Is that all?"

"Pretty much, I'm not sure how I can pay you back since I don't have a job yet… unless you'd like to give mine back? But I think it's only fair that you should know I'm not going to whine or beg."

Seto smirked, handing her a folder. "You know where your office is."

Emi laughed again, taking the work. "Yes I do." She was about to leave when Seto grabbed her right wrist. His blue eyes were on the silver bracelet that was dangling from Emi's wrist.

"What's this?"

"Oh…. My father gave it to me on his last trip. It was the first thing he got that I somewhat liked. I hate getting gifts."

"What kind of female hates getting gifts?"

"Me."

"It looks like the one I tried to give you."

"I know." She tried to pull her hand of Seto's grasp, but the brunet wouldn't let her go. His eyes were on her face, wearin thoughtful expression. "It was the last thing he got me; I might as well wear it," Emi added as she, once again, gently tugged at her hand as if asking for his permission to go. The owner of KaibaCorp released her; then, giving a small dismissing nod, he went back to work.

* * *

"Class, we have a new student."

Everyone stopped talking to see a young brown-haired boy. He smiled pleasantly at the class as he brushed away a strand of his shaggy hair from his green-hazel eyes.

"Hey, I'm Hunter Yeager, my father is an American ambassador," he told the class in broken Japanese. "I am excited to be in the city that has the most Duel Monsters players." After his small speech, he glanced at the teacher, silently asking for permission to sit down.

"Ok, Hunter, why don't you go sit in the desk in front of Hidenka? Hidenka, raise your hand."

Lazily, Mir raised her hand so that the new kid could find her. Once he sat down, he turned, holding out his hand for her to shake.

"Hey."

Mir smiled, shaking it. "Hey, welcome to homeroom, I'm Mirati Hidenka, I hope you have fun being bored out of your mind." At this, Hunter laughed.

"I like you, you're funny."

Mir raised an eyebrow. "Uh…Thanks?"

"Hey," Satra whispered from her seat next to Mir's, "I'm Satra, and that boy behind Mir is Bakura."

The white-haired boy smiled, nodding his head; Satra was one of the only kids in the school that made sure everyone called her by her first name. Hunter smiled, but his eyes were still on Mir.

"So, do you know about Duel Monsters?"

"Who doesn't?"

"Alright, everyone, if I could get your attention on the board…"

* * *

Gwyn was just sneaking out of class, hoping to miss the bullies, when she saw Mokuba waiting for her outside of her school.

"Mokuba?"

The black-haired boy smiled,s his hands in this pocket as he stood nonchalantly, a smile on his childish face. "Hey, Emi asked me to pick you up since Mir was doing something at home."

"Oh, well thank you."

Mokuba shrugged. "Wanna see if Mir's done with whatever she was doing and then go play laser tag?"

"OK!"

Laughing, both young teens ran off to Gwyn's house to get her older sister.

* * *

"You wanted to see me, Seto?"

The brunet looked up from his paperwork. Emi had been back at KaibaCorp for about a week now, and everything already seemed to be going back to normal.

"I want to get you something as a thank you."

Emi chuckled. "I told you, I don't like getting gifts. And there was only one thing I ever wanted, and when I finally asked for it, it slipped away."

Seto frowned slightly. "I can't bring him back. But I can give you this." Slowly, he stood and walked toward her, holding a white jewelry box. Emi glanced at it, then back at Seto's piercing blue eyes. Even though his face had its normal emotionless expression, his eyes were begging her to open it like a child who was excited about getting the perfect gift for someone. She couldn't say no to those eyes. Returning his eagerness with a small, pained smile, she took the box preparing herself to pretend to act like she was happy to get… whatever it was.

But when she opened the box, all words escaped her. She couldn't breathe. Her mouth hung open in shock.

Sitting on top of the white wrapping tissue was a sparkling ruby rose necklace.

"It looks so innocent, too innocent to have caused all this trouble," Seto whispered, his blue eyes on Emi, trying to decide if she liked it or not.

Emi was speechless. Her father had been right: It was beautiful. The delicate pedant dangled from several sterling wires, all different shades of silver, that were shaped like vines curling and twisting around each other. Small green leaves almost looked like they were sprouting out of the silver vines; no two leaves were the same color green. Each leaf sparked in its own unique shade of emerald. The pendent itself was gorgeous, a red rose that was a little bit bigger than a quarter with a small ruby in the center. Tiny green petals crowned the flower, giving it a graceful yet sturdy look. It was an elegant piece of art, yet small and sturdy as if made for daily wear. As if made just for her.

"Emi?"

She didn't even realize she was crying until he brushed away a tear from her eye with his thumb. Laughing slightly, she wiped away the remainder of her tears, looking up at Seto.

"He really did know what I liked, didn't he?"

"Yes he did."

Emi smiled brilliantly as she looked at the necklace again. Gently, she ran her fingers over the red petals. Seto rolled his eyes; why was she always so emotional? "Turn around." Obediently, she complied. He gently brushed her blonde hair over her shoulder, then picked up the necklace and clasped it around her neck. "There, happy?"

She ran over fingers over the necklace that now rested snugly around her throat. Then, giggling like a madwoman, she spun around, throwing her arms around Seto.

"THANK YOU SO MUCH!"

"… Ok, stop touching me."

Laughing, she let him go, twirling around, singing, "My red rose" over and over. Seto just leaned against his desk, unable to keep a small smile off his face.

--The End--

"_Now," The fairy said to Beauty, "I suppose you would like mw to send for all of your brothers and sisters to dance at your wedding?" _

_And so she did, and the marriage celebrated the next day with the upmost splendor, and Beauty and the Prince lived happily ever after_

_-Beauty and the Beast_

_

* * *

_

**Ok well they didn't really get married(…yet muhahah…ahem) but I felt the need to put the last line of Beauty and the Beast in the story at the end cuz I thought it was cute :D **

**Lol Ceci was mad that they didn't kiss… sorry for anyone else who ALSO was disappointed with that fact. I guess I COULD have put that in but then their relationship would be a little different in the next story and if I'm planning to make a prequel (yes I'm shooting for three stories) it would be VERY hard to write Emi and Seto if their relationship was that close by the third story. But for those who wanted them to kiss it's in the next story (halfwayish if everything goes by it's outline… -glares at her muse Carl- no surprises please Carl) **

**And really people this story isn't ending!! It's just going from being Beauty and the Beast to being Rapunzel with Mir as the Main character. Emi and Seto are still in it (more then I would like butttt that's all a matter of option) the next story is just going to have as much Reflectionshipping (RyouxMir) as I can cram into it. The story isn't even going to be THAT much after this one (at the most a few months) so really think of it as new chapters. **

**Now time to thank all the people who make this story possible!! You guys have NO idea how wonderful you all are!! I can't thank you all enough!! –cries as you hugs them all- **

**Reiko The Awesome:** Don't worry I hate sad endings (even if I love sad middles). Yep Bakuraness!! 3 Well in the story Beauty comes back for her Beast so I had to make Emi come back for Seto XD –throws confetti with her-

**Imperfection: **HARA FOR BAKURA!! 3 3 3 we think your AMAZING!! Well this was the climax, the next one is the conclusion so it's not as thrilling as this one (if you can call this thrilling –roles her eyes- )

**Claamchowder: **lol I'm not surprised, it's so adorable XD very very fluffy. Well the sequel is going to be a fairy tail about Mir (like this one was about Emi) but maybe I'll write a oneshot about her and Ryou… or maybe you can –looks at you XD-

It was amazing cuz Mokuba was so epic!! 3 and they had a girl who looked like him (which cracked me up) of course Yugioh abridged was better but XD still amazing

**cheeky half-demon: **hahah YAY!! I can see that last chapter really bothered you –grimaces at the thought of the next fic-

**: **awww thank you so much!! I'm so glad you love it so much!! –smiles with glee- well I always feel like a drag out TOOO much sorrow just to get my point across but I AM getting better. I think right now the hardist stuff for me to right now is thriller stuff (that OMG what's going to happen!! Help I'm so nervous I chewed off my fingers stuff,) Well I always try to make my stories one of a kind, to me that's important cuz even if my story telling skills aren't the best at least the story plot is different –smiles weakly- awww you really are so sweet!! –hugs- I LOVE your review!!

**Lightest'Ink**: awwww I'm sorry -hugs- lol I'm just a mean author I guess XD

Lol your welcome :D –hug-

**DarkestInk: **I know what that's like, I do that a lot where I'm like "wait didn't I comment to that?" awwww getting grounded stinks X(

Lol well I like to think that I get better as I write sooo the sequel SHOULD be better. So PLEASE don't miss this story,

**PB-Queen-101: **-does from the amazingness of this review which is even more amazing then this story- don't worry!! There's MORE!! MOOOOOOOOOORRRRREEEEEEE a whole story more!!

Really!? I'm sooo glad you think sooo!! It is sooooo hard to keep him IC!! I'm always worried I'm making him to cold then to caring then to bossy then GAAAAAA why do I have to read into people so much!!

Wow my story is like a chocolate bar melt!? –faints- WOW WOW WOW!! I don't know what to say!!

Of course! I mean Beauty always comes back for her Beast –love- Seto is one smexy beast –shot, stabbed, impaled, killed, dead-

SQUEEEE it's building up for the next story –is going to kill you guys with reflectionshipping-

Lol ok that was amazing!! XD going to have to use that!! Can't you see Satra randomly saying it)!! (she's someone else we're going to see more of.

Lol well I love them, I do have a hard time keeping friends cuz they end up getting crushes on one of my brothers (the one who's closest in age with me) and ignoring me. XD But besides that I love having brothers.

Awww that makes me feel so loved!! –love- -throws you plushi's of your favorite anime guy… btw who IS your favorite?- HAHAH you brother said that!! XD that's so funny!

Well I'd be MAD if you got behind on your school because of this story so remember that :D and ohhhh fanart!! SQUEEE I love getting picture by you!! Your art is amazing!! (is going to comment on all of it as soon as Cindy comes back)

Well I have rather dark brown hair…. But that would be cool!! 3 in fact I think I'm going to have a contest for Halloween :D

**Killthesnakesx**:

Lol this is how it turns out XD I'm so glad you loved it!! It makes me feel so wonderful!! –glomp-

**GAAA I can't say it enough!! Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you**

**THANK YOU!!**

**See you in A Tall Tower!!**

**-Liz (Element-girls) **


	16. A Tall Tower preview

Edit: it's up check it out here!! www(dot)fanfiction(dot) net/s/4600208/1/

A Tall Tower:

Summary: Just cuz I can't keep my big mouth shut doesn't mean she has to shut me in my room, It's at times like this I wish I had a friend to talk to. RyouxMir

"_The doctors said she is very small, even for a baby girl; she's like a little leaf. What do you think of Alei Mirati?" She glanced up at her husband, who sat next to her, holding their other daughter._

"_Alei means leaf but Mairti...?" Gayle asked._

_The young mother looked down at her daughter again. "Mirati means 'mirror,' and she looks so much like you. And I've always loved the name, anyway."_

_--_

"Mirati?"

"What are you doing down there?"

"Well, what are _you _doing up there?"

"Throwing things."

Bakura laughed at that. "I can tell; you hit me."

"Oh, sorry!" The white-haired boy just chuckled, shaking his head. Mirati was such a funny girl. He loved being around her; she was always doing something new that just intrigued him. "Hey, Ryou, want to come up here?"

"Excuse me?"

"Are you good at climbing? I bet if you climb up that tree…. Oh, wait, I think I saw some rope in the closet."

Mitrati disappeared for a moment, and then she was back. Laughing slightly, she threw down the end of the rope. "The rest of my family left, so I'm alone, want to play a game or something? I'm really bored."

"Sounds like fun."


End file.
